Another WTF? moment: Citigroup gains huge tax break, offsets TARP repayment

[AndyA]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34442183/ns/business-washington_post/

We can't afford health care, but we can afford to forgo BILLIONS in tax payments from banks???

The federal government quietly agreed to forgo billions of dollars in potential tax payments from Citigroup as part of the deal announced this week to wean the company from the massive taxpayer bailout that helped it survive the financial crisis.

The Internal Revenue Service on Friday issued an exception to long-standing tax rules for the benefit of Citigroup and a few other companies partially owned by the government. As a result, Citigroup will be allowed to retain billions of dollars worth of tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value when the government sells its stake to private investors.

While the Obama administration has said taxpayers are likely to profit from the sale of the Citigroup shares, accounting experts said the lost tax revenue could easily outstrip those profits.

We keep hearing about how the banks are paying back the TARP money, but I wonder how many sneaky deals like this are being made under the table?

[AllentownJake]

1. I'm sure once people do some investigative digging

They will find the same thing in the other Too Big to Fails.

Honestly, do we think Citi got the only sweetheart deal?

[Laelth]

2. Indeed. WTF? n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[pissedoff01]

3. What's good for the banks is good for the country. - Timothy "Goldman Sachs" Geithner

[DainBramaged]

4. I'm thinking the Netherlands

Decent summer weather, a stable government, pickled herring, could be the place for me to move to once the country collapses around us.....

[Stinky The Clown]

5. That's sumthin', innit?

[AndyA]

6. On Dylan Ratigan's show, they reported that Citigroup borrowed $20 billion

in TARP funds, and the tax considerations amount to $38 billion!

So, by paying back the $20 billion, Citigroup makes a cool $18 billion in profit from the tax cuts. So the American people get screwed again, and the White House sugar coats this as a good thing.

So much for transparency. There is a thing known as lying by omission. This is truly shameful, considering they're arguing over health care for the people who pay the bills, yet there's no hesitation to hand out a $38 billion reward for bad behavior.

Sickening. This is change?

[Cetacea]

7. Kicking. Keep all of the WTF moments on one page.