A House subcommittee has stated it will investigate the Treasury Department's decision to change a long-standing law so that Citigroup could keep billions of dollars in tax breaks.

The I.R.S. ruled yesterday that Citigroup could keep $38 billion in tax breaks that otherwise would decline in value as the government sells its stake in the company. Federal law lets businesses shelter profits from taxes in good years according to the amount of losses in previous bad years. The law does restrict however the use of past losses if a company changes hands, in order to discourage profitable companies from buying unprofitable firms to avoid paying taxes

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich remarked that the Treasury's decision was an “outrage and a farce” during a hearing of the domestic policy subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Kucinich is the subcommittee chairman, and he said: "This committee will not rest until we've examined this last deal threadbare, until we have spoken to every individual associated with it, examined every communication related to it, with every person that may have had an interest in it, or who may have had some kind of a channel of influence."

Congress should be forced to act on this despicable behavior. Timmy Geithner, being the Treasury Secretary has control of the IRS but of course we know who he favors and where he previously worked; the NY fed and so for him to provide Citi with this sort of sham tax shelter is just another piece of his “too big to fail” B.S. When is this stuff going to stop happening? $38 billion dollars might make a difference if you divide it up and give some tax money back to the hard-working average American and the small businesses who employ them. I don’t know about you but this stuff makes me sick whenever I hear about it and especially around such a holiday as Christmas and especially when I personally know of so many people hurting for money to “exist” on; much less them asking for a “tax break.”
May our friends respect us, trouble neglect us, the angels protect us and heaven accept us.