To: The United States Senate
Stop Tax Subsidies for Corporate Misdeeds
Support the Government Settlement Transparency and Reform Act (S. 1654). This bill would restrict corporations from deducting from their taxes the costs of their settlements with the federal government for corporate misconduct.
Why is this important?
Big banks like Bank of America helped cause the mortgage crisis that crashed the economy in 2008. Now Bank of America could get a multi-billion dollar tax break for its wrongdoing.
Sketchy mortgage practices put hundreds of thousands of American families in dire straits. Bank of America just announced a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for some of those improper practices that will reportedly include paying $10 billion to the government.
But thanks to a loophole, big banks can deduct these payments from their taxes, unless they’re specifically forbidden to do so. Bank of America could get a tax break of almost $3.5 billion in this case, while the rest of us pick up the tab.
We don’t get to write off the costs of fines from our taxes. When big corporations do something wrong, they should pay the full price for it.
Tell your Senators to support the Government Settlement Transparency and Reform Act (S. 1654), introduced by Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA). This bill would restrict corporations from deducting any of the costs of their settlements for wrongful behavior from their taxes and require greater public disclosure of these write-offs.