Tell USDOJ We Don't Want JPMorgan Deducting $4 Billion In Mortgage Fraud Settlement From Their Tax Liability

Maryland PIRG sent this along ~ Tell the Justice Department: Don't let JPMorgan take a $4.5 billion tax break for corporate wrongdoing

On Saturday, the news broke that JPMorgan is on the verge of reaching a settlement with the Department of Justice for the biggest bank penalty in U.S. history: $13 billion for mortgage lending abuses allegedly committed during the housing crisis.

But as this story makes waves in the media, one thing has gone unnoticed: Taxpayers could end up underwriting more than $4.5 billion of the settlement. That's because JPMorgan is likely to claim the settlement for wrongdoing as a deduction from their taxes.

We can’t let that happen. The DOJ has the power to deny the deduction, but they need to know that we’re watching.

Tell the Department of Justice: Don’t let JPMorgan get a $4.5 billion handout for peddling dangerous financial products.

The Justice Department will be negotiating the final deal with JPMorgan over the next few days, so we need to act quickly.

We know they can be convinced to do the right thing. Last year, after Maryland PIRG members helped flood the DOJ with 12,000 petitions, they made one of BP’s Gulf oil spill settlements non-deductible, saving taxpayers $1.7 billion.

Tell the Department of Justice: No tax write-off for JPMorgan’s wrongdoing.

Thanks,

P.S. The financial crisis caused by banks’ irresponsible practices landed us in a recession that we’re still struggling to get out of. Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay any more for JPMorgan’s bad action

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