AIG is steadily getting closer to repaying the $132 billion debt that it took in 2008 from the government to avoid collapse. The latest step in the direction is AIG’s agreement to sell its international life insurance unit, American Life Insurance Co. (Alico) to MetLife Inc. [Read more…]
What You Need to Know About Home Buyer Tax Credits
With the tax filing date getting close, people have been looking for new avenues of saving tax. , . One of the biggest opportunities of saving tax this year is availing the federal homebuyer tax credit. [Read more…]
IRS to Hold 1,000 Open Houses & Offers Assistance to Taxpayers in Distress
RS Commissioner Douglas Shulman has announced 1000 open houses at various venues across the country to allow distressed taxpayers to meet IRS officials and get a potential resolution to their tax troubles. The list of the venues and time of these open houses is given on the IRS website. [Read more…]
Government Could Take Over Student Loan System
If the Obama administration has its way, the government could soon take over the student loan system. The move has been criticized by many people, including Lamar Alexander, the U.S. secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993.
The administration’s proposal is that from July, about 19 million students who seek government backed loans for education should apply directly to the U.S. Education Department. This is in stark contrast to the current system where students and their educational institutions exercise their choice in deciding on lenders. [Read more…]
A.I.G. to Sell Asia Business to Repay Taxpayers
Its payback time for A.I.G. The American insurance giant is selling its Asia insurance business to Prudential PLC, the British insurance major, for $35.5 billion. The sale of the Hong Kong based American International Insurance, or A.I.A., would allow A.I.G. to repay a part of the $180 billion that it got from the US government at the peak of the financial crisis.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal would involve $25 billion in cash and $10.5 billion in stock. Almost $16 billion of the proceeds from the sale would be used to buy back the preferred shares in A.I.G. that the government had bought as part of the bailout package. The remaining amount would be used to partially pay the $25 billion outstanding debt that A.I.G. owes to the New York Fed. [Read more…]