LLC Status for Banks Eliminates Double Taxation

In Mike Welch’s November 13th column (“Several recent opinions still playing out”), he equated FDIC’s proposal to allow banks to organize as Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) as giving “more tax breaks for banks than those available via the Sub S Corp route.” The last time I looked, FDIC does not make tax policy. The IRS does – and it currently does not recognize LLC status for banks. But if and when the IRS does sign off on banks organizing as LLCs, the effect will not be more tax breaks than a Sub S institution. The effect will be that bank earnings are still taxed, just as Sub S earnings are. Both business structures simply eliminate the double taxation of the same income. This is still quite different from credit unions, which pay no taxes on profits. Keith Leggett Chief Economist American Bankers Association Washington, D.C.