IRS offers banks and others tax shelter settlement

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 45 major U.S. companies, including big banks, are being offered settlements to get rid of abusive tax shelters, the Internal Revenue Service said on Wednesday.

"Promoters and participants in aggressive tax shelters should know that the IRS will remain vigilant," IRS commissioner Doug Shulman told reporters on a conference call.

The IRS will offer companies a settlement for "lease-in lease-out" (LILO) and "sale-in lease-out" (SILO) transactions, which have allowed companies to beef up their balance sheets by gaining billions of dollars in tax deferrals.

Once companies receive the offer letter, they will have 30 days to decide whether to accept the settlement.

The IRS did not name any companies, except to say they include companies in the Fortune 500 and many of the country's top banks.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)