Just the Cost of Doing Business 0
Corporate America, where punishment is just another deductible expense
(snip)
In similar deals recently struck by the Justice Department with large U.S. banks, portions of the overall settlement amounts were designated as penalties, which banks aren’t allowed to write off.
But by law, banks can write off portions of their settlements that aren’t considered fines or penalties, such as payments to states affected by their alleged misconduct.
That means billions of dollars in Bank of America’s expected settlement could be tax-deductible.