Business briefs

IRS won't release info on taxpayer debt

The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that it will end its policy of releasing information about back taxes and other debts owed by taxpayers in the coming tax season. The information, called debt indicators, has been included on acknowledgments the IRS sent to tax preparers when electronically-filed returns were received by the agency. The indicators served as a warning that some or all of the person's refund might be held back to cover old debt, including back taxes, unpaid child support or delinquent federal student loans. They are typically used by tax preparers to decide if a taxpayer can get a refund anticipation loan, which is a contract between the taxpayer and the lending banks and can't be rejected by the IRS.

FCC abandons talks on "network neutrality"

Federal regulators are abandoning efforts to negotiate a compromise on "network neutrality" rules intended to ensure that phone and cable TV companies cannot discriminate against Internet traffic traveling over their broadband lines. The announcement Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission ends weeks of FCC-brokered talks to reach an agreement on the thorny issue among a handful of big phone, cable TV and Internet companies.

GM ready to get out of government control

Eager to get out from under government control, GM expects to sell its stock in one swoop when it offers shares to the public sometime later this year, its chief executive said Thursday. Some experts had expected General Motors Co. to sell only a partial stake at first, followed by several smaller sales. "We want the government out. Period," Ed Whitacre said. "We don't want to be known as Government Motors." The government has a 61 percent stake in the automaker.

- From wire reports