On the dotted line: The IRS awarded $18.8 million in contracts to 17 corporations that owed back taxes in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, despite a ban on the agreements, according to a government report issued today. The nation’s tax agency did not have “effective controls in place to prevent the award of contracts to corporations with certain federal tax debt and/or felony convictions,” the report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration concludes. The IRS challenged the number and dollar value of the contract awards questioned by the report, but the agency says it has taken corrective steps on the issue. USA Today has the full story.
On the way down: Students who must borrow to help pay college tuition will get a little bit of a break in the coming school year. Starting July 1, the rate on new undergraduate loans made under the federal Stafford program will fall to 4.29%, down from 4.66% for loans issued in the last academic year. The new rates apply to both subsidized loans, based on financial need, and unsubsidized loans, which are made regardless of financial need. Rates will fall for other categories of education loans as well. The rate on unsubsidized Stafford loans to graduate students, for instance, will drop to 5.84% from 6.21%, while the rate on PLUS loans, for parents and graduate students, will fall to 6.84%, from 7.21%. The New York Times has the full story.
The forecast: A panel of oil and gas analysts says oil prices will slowly begin to rise through the rest of 2015, while energy mergers and acquisitions could also increase. In a webcast Tuesday, the panel of experts from financial services giant Ernst & Young says that the energy sector is expected to rebound, albeit at a sluggish pace, after several months of unrest following the collapse in oil prices that began last fall. However, they argue that geopolitical turmoil and other variables could easily throw things into flux and cause prices to spike or plummet. FuelFix.com has the full story.
