Premature withdrawals from retirement accounts have become Americas new piggy bank, cracked open in record amounts during lean times by people like Cindy Cromie, who needed the money to rent a U-Haul and start a new life.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, reported adjusted gross income of $481,098 for 2013, down 21 percent from last year.

Administering the 2010 health-care law is just like municipal snow shoveling -- a top priority thats non-negotiable, John Koskinen, the commissioner of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, said.

Dozens of lapsed U.S. tax breaks, including benefits for corporate research and international finance operations, would be extended through 2015 in a plan released by Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The House Ways and Means Committee will begin debating which of 55 lapsed U.S. tax breaks should be extended permanently or dropped, potentially affecting a broader revamp of the tax code.

A U.S. Internal Revenue Service employee took home a computer thumb drive containing unencrypted data on 20,000 fellow workers.

The Treasury secretary urged Congress to increase support for the unemployed, infrastructure such as roads and bridges, and simplifying the tax code.

Companies would be prohibited from taking income-tax deductions for their top executives pay exceeding $1 million, even if its based on performance.