Received this e-mail today from U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland (D. SD) who is running for Senator Tim Johnson's (D. SD) seat regarding JP Morgan:
"If you ever wondered whether your Congress is owned by you or by the big money donors who elect its members, consider this" said Sioux Falls businessman and Democratic candidate for Senate Rick Weiland in 11 central South Dakota communities yesterday. "Under current law, as written by Congress, Wall Street giant JP Morgan could be about to get a multi-billion dollar tax break for breaking Federal law."
Weiland, who was speaking in his 234th town since pledging to visit each of South Dakota's 311 towns, explained that corporations caught with their hands in the cookie jar and fined billions are actually allowed to write off those fines on their tax returns. "Try writing off your latest speeding ticket and see what happens," Weiland said. "You will go to jail for tax evasion if you write off a $100 traffic ticket. JP Morgan will go to the bank and deposit billions under the agreement it has just been handed for bilking the American people during the financial crisis.”
"Unless a fine is 'punitive'," Weiland said, "big money law breakers can pay the fine with one hand and get their money back as a tax refund from Uncle Sam with the other," he charged. "It is as obvious an example as you will ever see of how giant special interests get paid back in billions for their millions in campaign contributions," he added.
Weiland said he would "enthusiastically" support legislation just introduced by Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley and Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed to eliminate the tax deductibility of settlements like the one just agreed to by JP Morgan. "But I'm not holding my breath waiting for Congress to end this obvious injustice," he added.
I am going to have a much bigger SD-Sen diary soon but I wanted to pass this along to you all. If you would like to donate or get involved with Weiland's Senate campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.rickweiland.com/