Friday, March 20, 2009

Get the diplomats on the case

Awkward phrasing from the New York Times --

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.

That's company that Ireland doesn't want to be in.

UPDATE: Both the Irish Times and Washington Post have read the underlying court documents. The Washington Post has a description of one dodge --

in one transaction, the Bank of Ireland "acquired nominal legal title" to shares of an AIG subsidiary called Maitengrove Finance while another AIG subsidiary "retained equitable title and beneficial ownership" of the shares "for federal income tax purposes."

[previous AIG - Ireland links]

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