BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

You probably won’t find this shocking, but special interest groups received many of the benefits of the last minute fiscal cliff legislation.

Big business has never been in danger of going over any fiscal cliff, but more than 50 tax breaks worth around $76 billion for major corporations were packed into the bill.

The Examiner reported that former senators John Breaux and Trent Lott lobbied for tax credit extensions for a number of big business clients. The credits were put together into legislation back in August, and Washington reportedly wanted them included in the fiscal cliff bill.

For example, the bill allows General Electric and Citigroup to move their profits into offshore financial subsidiaries. GE does that to sidestep most of its U.S. corporate income tax.

Also, according to Alternet, anyone choosing to build a racetrack received tax breaks, some railroads saw benefits, and some Hollywood studios got subsidies. And Goldman Sachs was able to receive $1.6 billion in tax subsidies for a new headquarters.

An Associated Press story on NorthJersey.com reported that the largest expense went to research and development departments of a number of industries, totaling $14.3 billion.  Other subsidies went to wind and renewable energy expenses, and a credit for buying vehicles using electric-power now also includes electric-powered motorcycles.

If that weren’t enough, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands would see higher tax rebates from a tax on rum imported into the United States. There is currently a $13.50 per proof-gallon tax on imported rum, and the two territories see most of that revenue.