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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 06/30/2009 - Taxes industry news provided by Financial News USA. NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A deal approved this week to fill up an empty skyscraper and keep the city's pro football team raises the bill of taxpayer funded redevelopment projects in downtown New Orleans to $300 million. And those projects are almost the sole source of rebuilding in the city that was devastated four years ago by Hurricane Katrina. Most of the big private investment plans have stalled since the nation sank into a recession. Among the casualties: Donald Trump's proposed $400 million hotel and condominium high-rise and another developer's $60 million condominium project in the riverfront Warehouse District. The evaporation of private development is troubling in a city where good-paying jobs tied to white-collar professions are too few. Commercial investment was tough to come by even before Katrina, and now it's clear the post-storm recovery will likely take years longer than once thought. [Read the full article] BOSTON (AP) -- Gov. Deval Patrick signed a sweeping transportation reform bill into law Friday, a measure designed to overhaul Massachusetts' road, bridge and commuter systems while setting the stage for a dramatic hike in the sales tax. The new law eliminates the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, but leaves intact the Massachusetts Port Authority and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Nearly all other state transportation functions would be consolidated under a new Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Patrick said the law will put an end to what he called "the Big Dig culture of deception, patronage and waste," referring to the nearly $15 billion highway project which was plagued by cost overruns, falling debris and leaks. "Today, we are inaugurating a new era of streamlined and efficient delivery of transportation services to the residents of Massachusetts," said Patrick, who signed the bill in his Springfield office. [Read the full article] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that taxpayers will lose about $159 billion from the government's bailouts of the financial and auto industries. While a massive figure, the CBO put the total cost of the bailouts at $356 billion in March. But that figure isn't comparable, according to CBO, because it was based on projected spending for the full year. The latest report, released Thursday, is based on actual spending so far. The government has made about $439 billion in investments and loans from its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, the CBO said. The CBO has also lowered its projected costs to taxpayers because banks have begun repaying the money earlier than expected, the report said. Ten large banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, repaid $68 billion to the government last week. [Read the full article] RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Amazon.com said Friday it has pulled the plug on commissions for North Carolina Web sites that make referrals to the online retailer because a law designed to collect sales taxes on these transactions could soon be enacted. Seattle-based Amazon said it wrote to Web site operators, telling them its "Associates program" will end after Friday. Web sites that posted links to the company about its products have received up to a 15 percent cut on sales. But the Legislature is considering a provision in its final budget plan designed to collect sales taxes on these so-called "click-through" transactions. Competing House and Senate plans both contain the provision, so it's likely to be in the compromise budget proposal that could be approved in the next several days. "We felt that we had to take this step and it's unfortunate," Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith said of discontinuing the program. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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