THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

You can expect a handsome return. Three professors from Kansas did a little investigating and found out just how handsome it was, indeed!

In a remarkable illustration of the power of lobbying in Washington, a study released last week found that a single tax break in 2004 earned companies $220 for every dollar they spent on the issue -- a 22,000 percent rate of return on their investment.

The study by researchers at the University of Kansas underscores the central reason that lobbying has become a $3 billion-a-year industry in Washington: It pays. The $787 billion stimulus act and major spending proposals have ratcheted up the lobbying frenzy further this year, even as President Obama and public-interest groups press for sharper restrictions on the practice.

The paper by three Kansas professors examined the impact of a one-time tax break approved by Congress in 2004 that allowed multinational corporations to "repatriate" profits earned overseas, effectively reducing their tax rate on the money from 35 percent to 5.25 percent. More than 800 companies took advantage of the legislation, saving an estimated $100 billion in the process, according to the study.

Or to put it another way, they saved an amount equal to providing healthcare to everyone in the United States. And what did they do with all this found money from the passage of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (remember that one?).

The tax break in question was included as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, and was billed as a way to create jobs in the United States by requiring companies to use the money for specific purposes.

But the Congressional Research Service and others have since found that many companies cut jobs in the wake of the tax break and that nearly all the money was used for stock buybacks or dividends. Supporters failed in a bid to include a similar tax break in this year's stimulus legislation, and a Senate subcommittee has launched an investigation into how companies used their tax savings under the 2004 program.

A few bucks for the stockholders, a big payout for the top execs and for creating jobs? Laughter all the way to the bank.