Tweet
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27635885
You Just gotta love this shit!
A quiet windfall for U.S. banks
With attention on bailout debate, Treasury made change to tax law
By Amit R. Paley
updated 11:37 p.m. CT, Sun., Nov. 9, 2008
The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In the midst of this late-September drama, the Treasury Department issued a five-sentence notice that attracted almost no public attention.
But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an even deeper tailspin.
You Just gotta love this shit!
A quiet windfall for U.S. banks
With attention on bailout debate, Treasury made change to tax law
| |||||
| A quiet windfall for U.S. banks Three Bush appointees likely to stay Cash-strapped parents pull kids from day care Report: Secret o |
By Amit R. Paley
updated 11:37 p.m. CT, Sun., Nov. 9, 2008The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In the midst of this late-September drama, the Treasury Department issued a five-sentence notice that attracted almost no public attention.
But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an even deeper tailspin.
Comment