The July issue of Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate News reports on the Senate’s vote to approve Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin’s amendment to the financial regulatory reform bill, a measure limiting interchange fees–also called “swipe fees”–on debit card purchases.
Also in this issue:
- The health care overhaul law declares the term “person” to include any corporation that is not tax-exempt under code section 501(a), vastly expanding the tax reporting and record-keeping burden on businesses and individuals–and the ability of the government to track our financial transactions.
- The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission has recommended the Texas Department of Insurance clarify and liberalize its property and casualty insurance ratemaking oversight.
- The U.S. House Financial Services Committee has passed the Homeowners’ Defense Act, which critics have dubbed a “beach house bailout.” The bill would create a National Catastrophe Risk Consortium, a quasi-governmental agency that would allow states to pool catastrophic risk, keeping property insurance rates artificially low in coastal areas at risk of hurricanes and other natural disasters.
- It’s Not as Bad as You Think, a book by Heartland Institute Senior Fellow Brian Wesbury, explains why the market should be able to overcome whatever damage the federal government has been inflicting on the economy.
- Most states continue to face dire real estate problems, but Texas has a healthy market thanks to tax relief, restrictions on risky loans, efforts to overturn problematic federal appraisal standards, and eminent domain limits.
