The decade ended with the stock market recovering 61% from the low nine months earlier. The big Wall Street banks see the good times as being back -- so “bonuses all round”. The bonuses may actually be larger than the record set in 2007. Analysts estimate that Wall Street’s 2009 bonus pool could top $200 billion. Goldman Sachs’ is number 1 on the list with $23 billion. Even though they needed taxpayer loans to survive the return to big bonuses will also allow Wall Street banks to claim billions in deductions.
Altogether, the top three Wall Street banks — Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley will increase the federal deficit by $20 billion due to tax breaks based on their employee compensation this year. In 2008, Goldman Sachs paid an effective tax rate of just 1% thanks to a variety of deductions and keeping profits offshore.
