Citigroup gets to keep $38 b. of loss deductions.

Friday, the Internal Revenue Service suspended the present law Section 382 denial of loss deductions in the event of a "takeover" of a financial institution by Treasury via its investment of TARP funds. This will allow Citigroup to keep $38 b. of loss deductions.  A Treasury spokesman said Section 382 was never intended to take away losses when the takeover was by the government. True enough. Section 382 was intended to stop corporate raiders from taking over unprofitable firms just for their tax deductions of in the 1980’s. Nonetheless, this is a back door way for Treasury to capitalize financial institutions. It just goes to show, that when circumstances change dramatically, the law changes with them.  This morning’s Washington Post article lays it all out.