By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
The Internal Revenue Service urged a bankruptcy judge to reject solar panel maker Solyndra LLC's bankruptcy plan Wednesday, saying it amounts to little more than an avenue for owners of an empty corporate shell to avoid paying taxes.
Bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC is busy selling off assets, but who owns what's left over is hard to say.
Fast running out of money, solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC last summer sold off nearly $60 million worth of inventory for less than $20 million in cash to a newly formed corporate entity closely tied to the company's biggest investors, records show.
New developments in the congressional probe into failed solar panel maker Solyndra LLC shed light on what Republicans are calling the close relationship between the White House and an Oklahoma billionaire donor whose foundation was deeply invested in the company.
"Why wouldn't I get capital gains in a situation where money was lost," he said. "It's an asset there. We're paying these dollars to deal with other situations, which is to deal with the liabilities. But the asset is there, why not preserve it?"
IRS says 'tax avoidance' at heart of Solyndra bankruptcy plan →
At the same time, he said he didn't see a reason why the operating losses would be destroyed.
IRS says 'tax avoidance' at heart of Solyndra bankruptcy plan →
