Citigroup Accused of Improperly Avoiding $800 Million in New York State Taxes
25th October 2015
An economics professor has filed a lawsuit against Citigroup accusing the bank of using an unusual federal tax break during the financial crisis to avoid paying $800 million in New York State taxes.
In a lawsuit transferred to Federal District Court in Manhattan on Oct. 2, Eric B. Rasmusen, a professor of business economics and public policy at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, challenged the validity of the unusual federal tax break for the bank’s New York State returns. His claim, originally filed under seal in New York State Supreme Court in 2013, seeks treble damages, or $2.4 billion, under the False Claims Act.
Eric and I were at Yale together, and (certainly coincidentally) I have an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at I.U. (Which was just the Graduate School of Business at the time, but money will get you name.) He was a nerdy little weed when I knew him, but it’s good to see that he’s made a success of himself. The world is indeed a small place.