Your New Tax Strategy: Buy Subway Cars

"Altria Group Inc. and Wachovia Corp. bought 570 New York subway cars. Wells Fargo & Co. owns more than 700 Chicago buses. And half of Atlanta's commuter rail tracks belong to Wachovia and American International Group Inc.The companies aren't running public transportation. They are just collecting $3.3 billion in federal tax breaks through leasing arrangements that Congress wants to curtail. Since 2001, 16 U.S. companies have bought transportation assets from cities through 35 leasing agreements, a review by Bloomberg News shows. The arrangements allow the buyers to save on taxes as the assets depreciate, even though they don't operate the equipment."