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Cruising on CNNMoney.com, I came across Allan Sloan's "BoA's Awesome Countrywide Tax Break" [2] (Fortune, 1/14/08).  "Guess who's helping Bank of America pay for its $4.1 billion purchase of Countrywide Financial? Answer: The taxpayers of the United States. 

That's because Bank of America (BAC [3], Fortune 500 [4]), which is solidly profitable, will be able to use some of Countrywide's losses to offset its own taxable income. The tax break could total about half a billion dollars over the first five years...."

It seems high time we pay more attention to these sorts of high-dollar bailouts, whether its preferential tax breaks for big corporations or mortgage rescues for sub-prime paid for on the backs of taxpayers and investors.  Just last week, Hope Street Group released its Corporate Tax paper "Ending Corporate Favoritism" [5] (1/9/08) recommending that huge corporate tax breaks be eliminated in order to level the playing field for all American businesses, big or small.  Stay tuned for our latest proposal to address the sub-prime mortgage crisis without putting the tab on investors or taxpayers.