Jim Zarroli

The government tracks prices on consumer goods — eggs, shoes, gasoline, etc. But when prices rise, people often make substitutions, like buying chicken if beef gets expensive. So economists have come up with the notion of "chained inflation" to take substitutions into account. That's the measurement the new tax bill uses, and it makes the consumer price index smaller, with an impact on deductions and brackets.

The measure presents a lot of complicated choices for American business owners who want to take advantage of a lowered corporate tax rate. The bill lowers the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent.

As Republicans prepare to pass their massive tax overhaul, they are planning to lessen, or even eliminate, the estate tax. Critics say the tax plays an important role in making the economy fair.

The rationale behind the GOP tax plan is that the economy needs stimulus. But it's already growing and near full employment. And the plan could be undercut by the Fed as it raises interest rates.

The tax changes proposed by Republican lawmakers would impact President Trump's personal finances. This week, he said: "This is going to cost me a fortune," but experts say that's far from the case.

Some senators want the tax overhaul to come with a built-in trigger: If budget deficits grow, tax cuts will be reversed. But several key senators strongly oppose the idea.

The alternative minimum tax was designed to prevent very wealthy families from dodging taxes entirely. But its reach has grown over the years, and now it hits hardest at upper-middle-class workers.

President Trump's company says it's severing its contract with the Trump SoHo, a New York City condo hotel that has struggled to find buyers.

The part hotel, part condo building, from which the president had continued to profit as president, potentially linked him to murky financing arrangements and allegations of fraud.

Critics of the tax cuts now being debated in Congress say they would cause the budget deficit to soar. But Republicans often have claimed that tax cuts lead to more growth and pay for themselves.

The Trump Organization has a new website that sells merchandise with the Trump name on it. Ethics watchdogs say it's the latest example of Donald Trump's businesses cashing in on his office.

Supporters of the tax cut say it will lead to more hiring and faster growth. But the evidence isn't so clear-cut.

Apple has sought many ways to not pay taxes as the Paradise Papers revealed. First, it was using a tax strategy in Ireland, and then in an English Channel island called Jersey. So as Republicans in Congress try to come up with a bill that would sharply lower taxes for U.S. corporations what does that mean for the tech giant?

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a 1977 U.S. law, bars payoffs to foreign officials by companies. Its global reach has helped fight corruption. But the law has critics, including President Trump.

One of President Trump's signature projects during his days as a businessman was Trump SoHo in Manhattan. Now the Mueller investigation is reportedly looking into the finances of that project, developed by a firm called Bayrock. NPR's Embedded podcast looked at the checkered history of the Bayrock Group and one of its key figures, Felix Sater.

Cyrus Vance Jr. decided not to prosecute Harvey Weinstein despite an undercover audiotape of the movie mogul harassing an Italian model. Now Vance is under scrutiny over his handling of the case.

The Labor Department also says the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent. The monthly jobs report was likely skewed by the impact of hurricanes that hit in late August and mid-September.

The president told Fox News "you can say goodbye" to Puerto Rico's $73 billion in debt. But the White House quickly walked back the remarks.

Blue states have emerged as powerful adversaries against some of the president's more controversial initiatives and could thwart efforts to impede the probe of Russian interference in the election.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says someone breached a major database last year. And it says information accessed in the hacking may have been used for illicit stock trades.