House Misses Opportunity to End IRS Private Tax Collection Program On June 28, the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) private tax debt collection program survived an effort by the House to bring it to a halt. House legislators struck language in the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act ( href="http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2007-606">H.R. 2829) that would have put a tight cap on how much funding could have been used to administer the program. Wall Street Tax Break Comes under Scrutiny A tax policy allowing private equity fund managers to claim their fee-based income as capital gains rather than ordinary income has suddenly become the subject of media scrutiny, congressional hearings and legislation. CBO Director Emphasizes Role of Health Care Costs in Long-Term Fiscal Imbalance Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Peter R. Orszag is the latest policy thinker to highlight the underlying cause of the long-term fiscal imbalance: the US health care system.