Trump criticizes Fed for raising interest rates too quickly

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, right, speaks with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, at the start of a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, at the Treasury Department in Washington. less Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, right, speaks with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, at the start of a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, at the Treasury ... more Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, right, speaks with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, at the start of a meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, at the Treasury Department in Washington.

US federal government posts widest deficit since 2012

Photo illustration by David Sleight/ProPublica; Photos: U.S. flag by Michelle Adkins/EyeEm via Getty Images, Hand with money by Pogonici/Getty Images The U.S. federal government closed the 2018 fiscal year $779 billion in the red as tax cuts hit revenues and the government paid more to service a growing national debt, according to Treasury Department data released on Monday. The data also showed a $119 billion budget surplus in September, which was larger than expected and a record for the month.

Taxpayers’ heightened IRS penalty risk may continue through 2020

The Internal Revenue Service will not release an updated W-4 form to go along with the new tax law until 2020, the Treasury Department announced on Thursday, which means taxpayers may continue to be at a heightened risk of owing a year-end tax penalty. "Launching the redesigned form in 2020 will allow the Treasury and the IRS to properly implement changes to the withholding system and ensure taxpayers have a positive and simplified experience," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Trump administration’s use of sanctions draws concern

One package of measures issued by the Treasury Department targeted North Korea, with dozens of ships, companies and other entities cited for shipping coal and fuel to the country in violation of previous sanctions. Before the month was over, sanctions had also been slapped on Colombian drug traffickers, smugglers of Libyan oil and individuals accused of sex abuse and recruiting child soldiers in Congo.

Trump imposes sanctions over Turkey’s detaining of minister

The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Trump administration will sanction Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior over the holding of 50-year-old Andrew Craig Brunson.

US firm tried to enlist ambassadors to help Russian company

A U.S. lobbying firm sought to recruit the ambassadors of France, Germany and several other countries to demonstrate international support for severing Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's control of Rusal, the aluminum manufacturing giant sanctioned by Washington. Documents made public by the Justice Department show that Mercury LLC drafted messages for at least six envoys to send to senior U.S. government officials that expressed support for a plan to eliminate Deripaska's majority stake in the EN+ Group, the holding company that owns nearly 50 percent of Rusal.

Trump sidelined as UN Security Council plus Germany Meet Iran’s Rouhani in Vienna

The five foreign ministers, minus US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, of the countries signatory to the 2015 Iran deal on curbing its civilian nuclear enrichment program, will meet in Vienna on Friday to explore ways of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after the treaty was violated by the Trump administration. The JCPOA was signed by Britain, France, Russia, and China on the UN Security Council plus Germany as an informal representative of the European Union.

US extends sanctions against Russians over cyberattacks

The US Department of the Treasury has issued another round of sanctions against a handful of Russian groups and individuals. These latest sanctions have been placed against companies that are controlled by and/or have provided support to Russia's Federal Security Service as well as some entities that are owned by or have acted on behalf of those that have allegedly supported the FSB.

IRS Issues Notice on Payments Made in Exchange for State and Local Tax Credits

On May 23, 2018, the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-54, stating that proposed regulations will be issued addressing the deductibility of certain payments made by taxpayers to state-operated charitable funds and entities in exchange for a partial credit against their state and local tax liability. The notice provides no actual guidance except to remind taxpayers that federal law controls the characterization of such payments for federal income tax purposes, regardless of their tax treatment under state law.

U.S. Issues Sanctions on Iran-Linked Currency Exchange Network

The Trump administration sanctioned nine Iranian citizens and companies on Thursday for allegedly operating a currency exchange network that -- with the help of Iran's Central Bank -- transferred millions of U.S. dollars to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force, the Treasury Department said. The central bank "actively supported" the arrangement, which involved currency transfers from Iran to the United Arab Emirates, according to a Treasury statement issued Thursday evening.

Ap Fact Check: Trump’s tax-form claims are exaggerated

On the eve of Tax Day, President Donald Trump is exaggerating the government's plans to shrink the much-dreaded federal income tax forms.aa He is promising a simplified, one-page tax form for next year that basically already exists - the 1040EZ. And after weeks of promises, Trump appears to be dropping a pledge to create an even smaller, card-size tax form.

Public confidence dented

The talk of the town over the past week and days to come, especially for residents of Chiang Mai, is none other than the housing and office building project for judges and officials of the Region 5 Appeals Court in the forest at the foot of Doi Suthep mountain in Mae Rim district. The controversial construction project pits environment-conscious groups in the northern province against the Office of the Judiciary which serves as the "housekeeper" for the judiciary.

A look at some of the Russian officials hit by US sanctions

File-This Nov. 10, 2017, file photo shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska, right, walking to attend the APEC Business Advisory Council dialogue in Danang, Vietnam. The United States punished dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials on Friday, April 6, 2018, with sanctions that took direct aim at President Putin's inner circle, as President Donald Trump's administration tried to show he's not afraid to take tough action against Moscow.

US takes aim at Putin’s allies in Russia with new sanctions

The United States punished dozens of Russian oligarchs and government officials on Friday with sanctions that took direct aim at President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, as President Donald Trump's administration tried to show he's not afraid to take tough action against Moscow. Seven Russian tycoons, including aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, were targeted, along with 17 officials and a dozen Russian companies, the Treasury Department said.