Saturday March 21, 2009, 6:43 am
AIG doesn't deserve a dime! They shouldn't have taken their business offshore. There are no tax havens for them!!!

Saturday March 21, 2009, 7:26 am

Unreal!

Saturday March 21, 2009, 7:30 am

(An afterthought . . . Are they using their bailout money to pay the legal fees?)

Also, here is a copy of the story for those who are not NY Times registered readers:

International Herald Tribune
A.I.G. sues U.S. government for the return of $306 million in tax payments
By Lynnley Browning
Friday, March 20, 2009

While the American International Group comes under fire from the U.S. Congress over executive bonuses, it is quietly fighting the U.S. government for the return of $306 million in tax payments — some of it related to deals that were conducted through offshore tax havens.

A.I.G. sued the government last month in a bid to force it to return the payments, which stemmed in large part from its use of aggressive tax deals, some involving entities controlled by the company's financial products unit in the Cayman Islands, Ireland, the Dutch Antilles and other offshore havens.

A.I.G. is effectively suing its majority owner, the U.S. government, which has an 80 percent stake in the insurer. The company is in effect asking for even more money, in the form of tax refunds. The suit also suggests that A.I.G. is spending taxpayer money to pursue its case, something it is legally entitled to do. Its initial claim was denied by the Internal Revenue Service last year.

The lawsuit, filed Feb. 27 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, details, among other things, certain tax-related dealings of the financial products unit, the once high-flying division that has been singled out for its role in A.I.G.'s financial crisis last autumn. Other deals involved A.I.G. offshore entities whose function centers on executive compensation and include C. V. Starr & Company, a closely held concern controlled by Maurice R. Greenberg, A.I.G.’s former chairman, and the Starr International Company, a privately held enterprise incorporated in Panama, and commonly known as SICO.

The lawsuit contends in part that the U.S. government owes A.I.G. nearly $62 million in foreign tax credits related to eight overseas entities, with names like Lumagrove, Laperouse and Foppingadreef that were set up or controlled by financial products, often through a unit known as Pinestead Holdings.

United States tax law allows American companies to claim a credit for any taxes paid to a foreign government. But the I.R.S. denied A.I.G.'s refund claims in 2008, saying that it had improperly calculated the credits. The I.R.S. has identified so-called foreign tax-credit generators as an area of abuse that it is increasingly monitoring.

The remainder of A.I.G.'s claim, for $244 million, concerns net operating loss carry-backs, capital loss carry-backs, a general refund claim and claims for refunds of other tax-related payments that A.I.G. says it made to the I.R.S. but are now owed back. The claim also covers $119 million in penalties and interest that A.I.G. says it is due back from the government.

In part, A.I.G. says it overpaid its federal income taxes after a 2004 accounting scandal that caused it to restate its financial records. A.I.G. says in part that it is entitled to a refund of $33 million that SICO paid in 1997 as compensation to employees, which it now says should be characterized as a deductible expense.

A.I.G.'s lawyers in the case, at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, referred calls to the company. Asked about the lawsuit, Mark Herr, an A.I.G. spokesman, said Thursday that "A.I.G. is taking this action to ensure that it is not required to pay more than its fair share of taxes."

Saturday March 21, 2009, 8:35 am
Of course they have a right to sue, but I wonder is the Congress not reacting to the pressure of public out cry? I don't believe that Congress has a right to penalize one group of people through exorbitant taxation, the Supreme Court will probably rule in favor of the AIG employees. So just like the way this began, ill informed Congressional leaders react without proper and full information to end with a no gain for the American people. We have a poorly informed and corrupt Congress that reacts rashly to each new perceived crisis, or those cooked up by lobbies. No wonder we are drowning in debt and scandals.

Saturday March 21, 2009, 11:48 am
There are a number of companies hiding their money in these tax shelters, disguised as businesses in places like the Caymen Islands, where thousands of businesses are using one empty cement block building's address as the place of a fake business. Those companies have been doing this for several years and all owe the tax money they are trying to get away from paying. We must remember that we pay our taxes, don't hide our incomes, but they make much more money and can pay their fair share too. I'm glad they are catching up with these companies. Learned all this watching the Senate on this subject. If we could collect all the moneys owed in taxes, we could repair our economy. I'm glad to have a government on OUR side for a change. Make those companies pay their taxes. Cry me a river, AIG, you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar too many times,

Saturday March 21, 2009, 12:24 pm
Cry me a river is right on, Barbara - MOST U.S. corporations pay no tax at all. Hey, that seems fair, right? Come whining when you're in trouble but don't take on any responsibility for the welfare of the country. You get no sympathy from me, AIG.

Saturday March 21, 2009, 4:12 pm
I love that they are using taxpayers' money to sue the goverment ! And doesn't the goverment own 80% of the company ? Absurd beyond belief !

Saturday March 21, 2009, 4:25 pm
AIG - well the I stands for Ignorant, or maybe inbred and G for Guerrillas or gang. The A well, you figure it out!
Tk. G-d my Grandfather is dead, or we'd already be on Wall St. with shotguns.

Saturday March 21, 2009, 5:01 pm
Pamylle G- That was exactly my thought. It would seem since we the taxpayers own 80% that AIG (we) are essentially by suing the government suing ourselves and paying the legal fees for AIG and Congress. What sense does any of it make?

Kit, I also agree with what you are saying. Slippery slope.

It's going to cost a lot of money and they probably will still legally walk away with their bonuses.

Saturday March 21, 2009, 7:27 pm
What AIG has done is reprehensible, but I am just about as angry with the politicians. First of all, George W. Bush for giving out the bailout money in the first place and members of Congress who voted in favor of it and hastily passed the legislation authorizing it without oversight or requiring AIG or the failed banks to use the money prudently. President Obama has to share in at least some of the responsibility for this because as a Senator he voted in favor of the bailout as did most Democrats. I am a life-long Democrat and voted for Barack but when politicians don't do the right thing I don't care what party they belong to.

Saturday March 21, 2009, 7:42 pm
WHAT A BUNCH OF ASSHOLES !!

Monday March 23, 2009, 10:27 am
the sad point about all of this mess this country is in is that WE THE PEOPLE,have put too much trust in the politicians,of any and all partys,just watch the news,read the papers, our SO CALLED LEADERS,of this country,have been robbing this country for years . ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,they pass laws, that benifit there states, or themselfs,while trying to convince the public, there doing there country proud,IT HAS BECOME,a national DISGRACE,AND ALSO HAS US WHERE WE ALL ARE NOW,AS MUCH AS WE NEED TO OVER-HAUL THE MONITARY SYSTEM,we also need to over-haul the way polititions, are conducting the countrys bussiness..IF WE ARE TO FIX THIS PART OF THINGS, WE FINALLY NEED TO HAVE TERM LIMITS, ON OUR LEADERS,THAT MAKE OUR LAWS.that way they will not know, they have free reign,and can have such power over the people..TO BE HONEST, the polititions have more say,and create more havoc than do our presidents, AS THERE TERM , MAY ONLY LAST FOR 8 YEARS,BUT SENATORS AND CONGRESSMAN ARE THERE AS LONG AS WE KEEP VOTING THEM IN, WELL THATS WRONG,AND HAS GOT TO CHANGE, THEY NEED TERM LIMITS JUST LIKE THE PRES.AND WHEN THIS BECOMES LAW,THEN,WE,LL SEE SOME BIG CHANGES,AND WILL ONCE AGAIN BELIEVE IN GOVERMENT.NO ONE SHOULD EXPECT TO KEEP THERE JOB , TILL THERE ARE CARRIED OUT,to many of these people,have WAY OVERSTAYED , there welcome, AND ITS TIME IN 2010, TO START SENDING THEM HOME, and the people should not have to pay them for the rest of there years,THATS WRONG.I LOVE MY COUNTRY,HAVE SERVED IT,AND HOPE SOON, I WILL BE PROUD OF IT AGAIN,LETS DO RIGHT,,,,TERM LIMITS 6 YEARS, and gone. thanks for reading