In USA ogni tanto fanno la cosa giusta: tassati al 90% con legge bipartisan i bonus miliardari accordati da AIG con i fondi pubblici...
US House Approves Bill To Tax $165 Million In Bonuses Paid To AIG Executives
http://www.dj.com/
March 19, 2009: 03:09 PM ET
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. House of Representatives handily passed legislation to slap a 90% tax on bonuses at Wall Street firms that received federal bailout funds.
It passed on a 328-93 vote, with a substantial assist from Republicans, although about half of GOP House members opposed it.
The bill would tax bonuses paid by firms that received more than $5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, plus Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac ( FRE).
Although broader in its effect, the bill is a response to the furor over bonuses paid by American International Group (AIG), which has been squarely in lawmakers' cross-hairs after it emerged over the weekend the company had paid millions in retention bonuses to many of the executives that worked in the firms' financial products division that is the source of the AIG's woes.
"These people are getting away with murder," Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Thursday during debate on the House floor. "They're getting paid for the destruction they've caused to our communities."
Under the plan, the first $250,000 of compensation including any bonuses earned by executives at the firms would be taxed at normal federal income tax rates. Any bonus over that amount would be taxed at a much higher rate of 90%.
The Senate is working on its own plan to try to recoup the bonuses. Lawmakers there have yet to roll out their legislation, although according to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the chairman of the Finance Committee, a bill will be introduced later Thursday.
The Senate bill is much broader than the House version - taxing bonuses at any company that received federal assistance, not just the largest ones. It would tax bonuses at 70%, split evenly between the company paying the bonus and the employee receiving it.
For its part, the Obama administration said that it was pursuing all avenues for recouping the money. It said that it would seek to deduct the $165 million from its most recent $30 billion infusion to the company.
However, AIG Chief Executive Edward Liddy told a House panel Wednesday the company doesn't want to necessarily tap the most recent cash infusion. It needs the cash for capital adequacy purposes rather than for operating reasons, Liddy said.
Earlier Thursday, the House rejected a Republican alternative that would have directed the Treasury Secretary to develop a plan to recover the AIG bonuses. The GOP would have blocked additional federal aid to AIG until 100% of the $165 million in bonuses was paid back.
In House floor debate Thursday, Republicans said Congress shouldn't rush to judgment by passing the tax on bonuses.
"I believe this is a gimmick. I don't think this is going to become law," said Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif. "What we should do today is calm down, stop this process...and go through this bill to consider whether this is the right course of action."
Republicans also said the legislation may be unconstitutional. According to talking points distributed by House GOP conservatives, the House bill might be a constitutionally prohibited "bill of attainder," or legislation to punish a specific individual or group of individuals.
Democrats say the bill is not specifically aimed at AIG but is intended to prevent further abuses by bailout companies.
la guerre comme à la guerre :
questi sono tempi straordinari".
