AIG Executive Compensation | 03/19/2009 10:35 am
Dems Want to Tax 90% of AIG Bonuses; Bank of America to Turn Over Names
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The furor over that $165 million in AIG bonuses doesn’t seem to be subsiding.
AIG CEO Edward Liddy tried to explain the situation to Congress yesterday, but he was skewered by lawmakers who blamed him for things that happened before he even took over the beleaguered insurance giant. Though some employees have already offered to give back 100 percent of their bonus money, House Democrats will offer a bill Thursday to tax 90 percent of the bonuses paid out since January 1 by AIG or any other firm that received more than $5 billion in bailout money.
Some eyes are also now turning to Fannie Mae, which plans to pay out retention bonuses of between $470,000 and $611,000, The Wall Street Journal reports. Freddie Mac may have similar plans. These awards will also likely draw the ire of Congress, since Fannie and Freddie reported a combined loss of $108 billion from the subprime crisis and could receive up to $200 billion each from the Treasury Department. There are also reports that Citigroup and Morgan Stanley will authorize or repurpose shares to load up on stock to compensate employees.
Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo won a legal battle in his fight to force Bank of America to release the names of Merrill Lynch executives who got taxpayer-funded bonuses just before the two companies merged. A New York judge on Wednesday denied Bank of America’s attempt to keep the list secret, saying it’s up to Cuomo to decide what should be made public. Cuomo has also subpoenaed AIG to hand over the names of its bonuses-receiving financial-products executives. Liddy said Wednesday that while he would comply with the law, his employees have received death threats, so any leak of the names could be dangerous. Rep. Barney Frank, D-MA, threatened AIG with a subpoena, as well.
"Obviously we want to comply with the law, but we’re concerned about the safety of our people," Liddy said.
Read more about: AIG, Bailout, Barney Frank, Bonuses, Economy, Edward Liddy, Executive Compensation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, News, Treasury Department, U.S., Wall Street
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_bi_ge/mortgage_giants_bonuses
Oh snap son! What will the rabid masses say now?
Waiting. Waiting……..
Oh, Libra, here we go down the yellow brick road….Just think how different our economic outlook would be today if Barney and Dodd had the wherewithall to recognize a crisis when they saw one! No wonder things are still falling apart in the White House with "Frick & Frack" at the helm.
We have more problems. Read below:
The fact that everyone was “surprised” at these bonuses at AIG shows how little Washington knows about private business. It would seem to me that before you forked over $150 billion, someone would have done some level of due diligence. And even a cursory due diiligence involves looking at all executive compensation plans. The fact that they were shocked tells us we have people in charge without a clue.
Obama was "shocked."
I just heard something about the companies receiving the bailouts having over $220 million in unpaid taxes!!! And they received the bonus! I’m having trouble finding it on my regular sites. Help!
Rep. John Lewis, chairman of a House subcommittee overseeing the federal bailout, said two firms owe more than $100 million apiece.
"This is shameful. It is a disgrace," said Lewis, D-Ga. "We are going to get to the bottom of what is going on here."
The House Ways and Means subcommittee on oversight discovered the unpaid taxes in a review of tax records from 23 of the firms receiving the most money, Lewis said as he opened a hearing on the issue.
"If we looked at all 470 recipients, how much would they owe?" Lewis asked.
He did not name the firms owing back taxes.
Banks and other firms receiving federal money were required to sign contracts stating they had no unpaid taxes, Lewis said. But he said the Treasury Department did not ask them to turn over their tax records.
Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, told the hearing that if an executive signed a contract knowing that information about unpaid taxes was false, "that would potentially be a crime." He said his office will look to see if crimes were committed.
The revelation is sure to spark outrage on Capitol Hill, where the House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would impose steep taxes on employee bonuses at firms that have received bailout money.
To date, the Troubled Asset Relief Program has paid out more than $300 billion to private companies, with billions more on the way.