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Nov. 22--Ford City residents have spoken: They don't want the borough to mess with their police department. Some at a town hall meeting Monday went as far as to say [...]

Byline: Anna Fifield TOKYO - Faced with a tanking economy and plummeting ratings, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved Japan's House of Representatives Tuesday and called a snap election in an [...]

For years, chief executives have complained bitterly about the United States corporate tax code, arguing that it is too complicated and that rates are too high. The issue has reached [...]

About 10,000 motorists die each year because of inadequate road conditions, and millions of other Americans waste large portions of their lives stuck in traffic or stalled trains. The enormous [...]

Feb. 20--Turns out those nasty conservative (but libertarian-leaning) Koch brothers, the regular object of 'progressive' ire for their political speech (i.e., donating money to political causes), barely cracked the top [...]

Byline: Brad Bumsted Nov. 22--HARRISBURG -- Political analysts say Gov. Tom Corbett gets a boost for winning approval of a legislative priority -- a $2.3 billion transportation bill -- but [...]

Nov. 15--On the 'Watch List': The Ligonier Valley YMCA zoning dispute. In appealing the borough's rejection of its rezoning request, the Y says former Ligonier Councilwoman Kim Shaffer should have [...]

Oct. 29--Reassessments & tax hikes: Many Allegheny County municipalities will be increasing tax rates, but don't blame the locals. Blame the county's faulty reassessments. The boroughs and townships set their [...]

Byline: Matthew Santoni June 06--The first bill for the .34-mill tax that voters approved last month to support the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire Company won't go out until mid-2014, and [...]

April 05--Lance: To the North Apollo Council. The council enacted an $80 per household and business ($40 per apartment) fee to fund the volunteer fire department. That $80 fee is [...]

Tens of thousands of co-op and condominium owners across New York City are facing a tax increase this year after the recent tweak of tax-abatement regulations. On Jan. 30, Gov. [...]

Byline: Tim Mullaney, @timmullaney, USA TODAY Consumers' taxes went up Jan. 1, but it looks as if they've kept spending despite a hike in payroll taxes that cost the average [...]

Byline: David Jackson, USA TODAY, The White House kicked off a week of warnings Sunday about the sequestration by issuing reports on how the looming $85 billion in automatic budget [...]

Jan. 19--It is an annual ritual in many municipalities -- politicking over budgets. Ford City just happened to be the latest on Monday night. Mayor Marc Mantini had vetoed the [...]

Jan. 10--The Tax Policy Center calculates that the fiscal cliff deal will, on a percentage basis, see workers making $30,000 'take a bigger hit' than those earning $500,000. The former [...]

Byline: Eric Heyl Jan. 06--If you're an asparagus farmer or Hollywood movie producer, this is a time for rejoicing. If you're a member of the middle class or a minimum-wage [...]

Byline: Patrik Jonsson President Obama said Saturday that he's willing to compromise with Republicans on taxes and spending cuts in coming months, but will not budge on honoring America's obligations [...]

Byline: Kurt Shillinger It is hard to say just what Congress averted on New Year's Day. The 'fiscal cliff' was a self-inflicted crisis. And the agreed-on package of tax increases [...]

Howard Schultz, the C.E.O. of Starbucks, has a reputation as a good guy, a man who supports worthy causes. And he presumably thought he would add to that reputation when [...]

Byline: Matt Krantz, mkrantz@usatoday.com, USA TODAY A: Investors fear that higher taxes on investments could put a big chill on stocks. The cause for alarm is justified, as higher investment [...]

Byline: Brad Knickerbocker The New Year may be more than a week off, but realistically Congress and the White House have less than that as the clock ticks toward the [...]

Byline: Brad Knickerbocker If you picture the 'fiscal cliff' struggle between the Democratic White House and the Republican House of Representatives as hand-to-hand political combat between the President and Speaker [...]

Byline: Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY, With huge federal spending cuts and tax hikes looming, county and city officials are grappling with how they might deal with the ramifications if Congress [...]

PARIS -- Grard Depardieu, one of France's best-known actors, has been accused by the country's Socialist government of lacking patriotism after he moved to Belgium apparently in a bid to [...]

Dec. 08--The year winds down in its inevitable fashion, our eyes fixed on the holidays that will arrive soon. Equally traditional is the passage of budgets by borough councils and [...]

Byline: Mike Wereschagin Dec. 04--Sen. Pat Toomey wants to use a proposal he put forth as a member of the 'supercommittee' last year as the foundation of a compromise to [...]

Byline: Eric Heyl Dec. 02--The plots are badly in need of overhaul. As you undoubtedly are aware, television's annual barrage of Christmas specials is well under way. Most are sadly [...]

Nov. 30--Lance: To the cost of disregard. Hempfield's $32,000 bill to dredge a creek could climb substantially higher because now the township must restore wetlands that state officials say were [...]

Business owners and investors are rapidly maneuvering to shield themselves from the prospect of higher taxes next year, a strategy that is sending ripples across Wall Street and broad areas [...]

Whenever talk turns to the federal deficit, activists on the political left have a common refrain: Don't touch our benefits! Since Nov. 6, they've been trying out a variant that [...]

Investors drew little hope Wednesday for a quick compromise in budget talks after President Obama insisted that higher taxes on wealthy Americans would have to be part of any deal. [...]

MOSCOW -- Preliminary returns from parliamentary elections in Lithuania on Sunday showed voters on track to oust the conservative government of Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius -- an apparent reflection of [...]

ASIDE from the empty chair that Clint Eastwood debated, the main prop at the Republican convention was a debt clock, highlighting the federal deficit and the growing national debt. The [...]

Byline: Brad Bumsted and Salena Zito Aug. 27--TAMPA -- Gov. Tom Corbett on Monday told Pennsylvania delegates to the Republican National Convention that the federal government needs to do what [...]

Byline: Paul Davidson and Barbara Hansen, USA TODAY Most economists surveyed by USA TODAY have little faith a divided Congress will adequately address looming tax increases and spending cuts, significantly [...]

July 28--Laurel: To the Penn State Electro-Optics Center and IUP. Their robotics camps at Northpointe enthuse young folks in science and technology. Brilliant! On the 'Watch List': Area boroughs. Apollo [...]

Byline: Jeremy Boren June 06--Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said he waited in line this morning to appeal the reassessment of his Squirrel Hill home, just like everybody else. 'I [...]

WITH 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, financial advisers say that more than ever, people who are thinking about second acts need a life plan to account for living expenses, [...]

Byline: Gail Russell Chaddock With the clock ticking down to a payroll tax hike for 160 million Americans on Jan. 1, Congress is headed into a standoff that leaves House [...]

Leon Cooperman, a 68-year-old Wall Street veteran, says he is for higher taxes on the wealthy. He'd happily give up his Social Security checks. He voted for Al Gore in [...]

Byline: Jim Matheson and Mike Ross As leaders in entrepreneurship and innovation, American businesses have expanded around the world to grow and compete for the 21st century global customer base. [...]

Byline: JOHN LORINC BUDGET SHORTFALLS It may well be the defining dilemma of local politics in this grinding post-recession period: While rapidly growing North American cities confront vast infrastructure needs, [...]