The Letter of the Law

The Letter of the Law

The letter of the law says I must file in this jurisdiction,
The letter of the law does not specify this structure,
The letter of the law allows the beneficial restriction,
Of ownership through a trust in a favorable rupture.

The letter of the law is not the spirit of the law,
The letter of the law is not what the legislator saw,
The letter of the law is the tool of the wealthy and the clever,
The letter of the law keeps them from the tax man forever.

The loophole is a feature of the system, not a bug,
The loophole is the consequence of lobbying the bill,
The loophole is written by the lawyer who will tug,
The provision in a way that serves his client still.

I read about a provision in the tax code called the carried,
Interest exception that has been in place for decades on,
It benefits a category of investor who has carried,
Billions in advantage that the plain investor gone.

Every attempt to close the loophole has been met with a check,
Written by the beneficiaries to the appropriate campaigns,
The loophole is the self-perpetuating commercial wreck,
That every generation of reformers tries and fails.