Overnight Finance: Obama touts economy, trade deal in final SOTU

OBAMA SLAMS ECONOMY CYNICS: In his final State of the Union address, President Obama said those who criticized the strength of the post-recession recovery were “peddling fiction.” He called the U.S. economy “the strongest, most durable economy in the world” before touting the gains made while he’s served. The Hill’s Peter Schroeder recaps Obama’s mic drop: http://bit.ly/1SOUNqU.

OBAMA’S PITCH FOR TPP: A major part of Obama’s economic legacy could be the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the massive trade deal waiting for Congressional approval. Obama pitched the TPP as boosting the U.S. economy and influence abroad, and countering China in the Pacific. The Hill’s Vicki Needham breaks it down: http://bit.ly/1PbZJjE.

{mosads}REID CALLS FOR PUERTO RICO TASK FORCE: With Puerto Rico scrambling to solve its debt crisis, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is asking Republicans to assemble a group to aide the struggling commonwealth. Reid sent a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) asking that he work with Democrats to create a panel of six to eight senators who would be responsible for coming up with legislation by the end of February. The Hill’s Jordain Carney has more on Reid’s request: http://bit.ly/1mZROjB.

“Reid added that while he is open to changing the structure of the task force, it has to ‘be formed quickly, meet consistently, and report on its progress to Senate leadership on a regular basis.’

“The letter comes after Puerto Rico earlier this month defaulted on a $36 million interest payment. Lawmakers have struggled to reach an agreement on how to tackle the island territory’s growing debt crisis, after the issue wasn’t included in an end-of-the-year spending bill.”

NIGHTLY OIL UPDATE: $30.22 per barrel by the end of trading.

NIGHTLY POWERBALL UPDATE: $1.5 billion.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY and welcome to Overnight Finance, where you’ll always have more than 15 minutes to read. I’m Sylvan Lane, and here’s your nightly guide to everything affecting your bills, bank account and bottom line.

Tonight’s highlights include a big move for GE, a new tax plan from a Republican, action against fired IRS employees and a call for a federal probe into Warren Buffett’s companies.

See something I missed? Let me know at slane@digital-staging.thehill.com or tweet me @SylvanLane. And if you like your newsletter, you can subscribe to it here: http://www.digital-staging.thehill.com/signup/48.

NUNES INTROS BUSINESS TAX BILL: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) introduced a bill to lower the maximum tax on all business to 25 percent. The bill, called the American Business Competitiveness Act, also moves the United States to a territorial tax system, in which companies are only taxed by the income earned in the country. The Hill’s Naomi Jagoda walks us through the proposal: http://bit.ly/1SiPZe1.

“The legislation would also revamp business taxes by moving from an income tax to a consumption tax on ‘cash flow.’

“Under the plan, all businesses, whether they are corporations or pass-through entities, would have their net income taxed at a maximum 25 percent rate. The current top corporate tax rate is 35 percent. Taxes would be determined each year by deducting the costs associated with a business’s U.S. operations from the income generated in the country. Business investments would be completely deducted immediately, and all ‘loopholes’ and credits would be eliminated.”

HOUSE DEMS CALL FOR BUFFETT PROBE: A group of Democratic lawmakers is calling for a multi-agency federal investigation into allegedly discriminatory lending practices by several companies under Warren Buffett’s business umbrella. The four lawmakers, all House Financial Services Committee members, asked the Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to crack down. Here’s more from me: http://bit.ly/1njhIhP.

“Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif)., Keith Ellison (Minn.), Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.) and Michael Capuano (Mass.) announced Wednesday that they asked the Department of Justice and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to investigate Clayton Homes, Vanderbilt Mortgage and 21st Mortgage, subsidiaries of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway holding company.

“Lawmakers cited a joint investigation into the Buffett subsidiaries by The Seattle Times and BuzzFeed News that highlighted the practices.”

GOP WANTS TO BLOCK IRS REHIRES: Republicans are pushing a bill to block the Internal Revenue Service from rehiring employees fired for misconduct. Rolled out by GOP Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Dean Heller (Nev.) and Mike Enzi (Wyo.) to match a House bill from GOP Reps. Kristi Noem (S.D.) and Peter Roskam (Ill.), it comes after the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found in late 2014 that the IRS had rehired hundreds of former employees with conduct or performance issues. http://bit.ly/1Q6cj9n.

MORE IRS WOES: Two IRS departments lack proper review and documentation of their audits, according to a pair of internal watchdog reports released Thursday. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the IRS’s Small Business/Self Employed Unit and Wage & Investment Unit didn’t properly track and evaluate audits, which “increases the risk that the audit program’s mission of fair and equitable application of the tax laws will not be achieved.” Republicans were none too pleased. Here’s more from me: http://bit.ly/1Q6aCIY.

“House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said the reports ‘exposed serious weaknesses in the IRS’s auditing process and confirmed that Americans remain at risk of political targeting.’

“‘Ways and Means members will hold the IRS accountable for quickly implementing GAO’s recommendations and finally treating all American taxpayers fairly,’ he said.”

NIGHTCAP: General Electric is moving its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston. The city could offer GE more than $20 million in property tax breaks, while the state could offer tax incentives up to $120 million. Another inducement: lots of fantastic pizza from Regina Pizzeria: http://bit.ly/1Zl4ltv.

Write us with tips, suggestions and news: slane@digital-staging.thehill.com, vneedham@digital-staging.thehill.com; pschroeder@digital-staging.thehill.com, and njagoda@digital-staging.thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @SylvanLane,  @VickofTheHill; @PeteSchroeder; and @NJagoda.