“Critics from both sides of the aisle are raising their voices to make sure taxpayers aren’t responsible for footing part of JPMorgan Chase’s record $13 billion penalty.

“Unions, lawmakers and public interest groups say the department should prevent the bank, which is the country’s largest, from writing off a portion of its settlement as a tax deduction. Letting it deduct billions of dollars would penalize consumers who have already been hurt by the financial crisis, they say.

“’As your enforcement actions unfold, it is important that the American people—already victimized once by Wall Street’s malfeasance—not be forced to pick up more of the tab,’ a group of 74 organizations wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday.

“Also on Monday, Americans for Tax Fairness and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group delivered to the department a petition with 160,000 signatures asking it to specifically prevent JPMorgan from claiming a tax deduction on the penalty.”

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Read full The Hill article here