Amid mounting outrage at corporate malfeasance, industry giants—from BP to Hyundai—are from time to time slapped with symbolic fines for the harm they inflict on people and the environment.

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However, the payment of these damages is often subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, thanks to a tax loophole that has saved companies billions of dollars.

Patricia Cohen reported on this phenomenon in The New York Times on Tuesday. “Although the tax law forbids deductions for criminal fines and penalties owed to the government,” she explains, “other kinds of payments — to compensate victims or correct damages — are eligible for a tax deduction.”

Cohen notes that the question of which payments are deductible “is often a mystery to the public.” That’s because the “overwhelming majority of cases, whether with a government agency or private individuals, are settled, enabling companies to hide just how much of the agreement’s sticker price is eligible for a write-off.”

Cohen’s observations are not new. In January 2013, U.S. PIRG released a report entitled , which tracks the process by which regulators systematically settle with “reckless” corporations out of court.