America in 2013: For-Profit Prisons Get Favorable Tax Breaks

Here’s a great idea.  At a time when the debt of the country is exploding exponentially and we are running budget deficits that would be the envy of any banana republic, let’s give favorable tax treatment to for-profit prison companies.  This is a growth industry that we should all support, who cares that these United States has 5% of the World’s Population, yet 25% of its Prisoners.  May as well try to improve on that; just imagine how high we could get the prison population if we actually put a banker in jail?  From Forbes:

In early January 2013, both Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and the GEO Group – the nation’s two largest private prison companies that control a combined 75 percent of the for-profit prison market in the United States – announced that they had each completed preliminary plans to convert their corporate structure to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

REITs are designed for companies that primarily invest in and generate revenue from real estate holdings, such as hotel chains; like other publicly-held corporations they trade on the stock market. There are special tax advantages for REITs, which generally pay no income tax. They also must distribute at least 90 percent of their income to shareholders in the form of dividends.

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