It looks like the Obama administration goofed and now nearly half of BP’s $20B escrow fund will be paid for with taxpayer money: Market Watch:

BP  (BP 37.94, -0.71, -1.84%) said Tuesday that it is incurring a charge of $32.2 billion from the Gulf response, and as such, it is claiming a $9.9 billion taxation credit.

Asked in a conference call Tuesday about whether it has discussed the tax credit with President Barack Obama’s administration, outgoing BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward said, “We have followed the IRS regulations as they’re currently written.”

White House officials weren’t immediately available for comment. The Internal Revenue Service said it’s not allowed under federal law to discuss individual taxpayer issues.

But the issue may raise red flags among federal officials, particularly in light of recent efforts by various other entities that have settled with the U.S.

One notable example is Goldman Sachs Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!gs/quotes/nls/gs (GS 147.99, -0.21, -0.14%) , which agreed last month not to seek deductions for $535 million in penalties as part of its settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC had sued Goldman Sachs, alleging that it hid critical information from investors in mortgage securities.

SEC officials had come under fire from Congress for previously allowing tax deductions from penalties in other cases.

Another wrinkle, though, is that it appears no other entity in hot water with the U.S. has incurred costs on the scale that BP has. The company has agreed to put $20 billion in an escrow account to pay claims for oil-spill damages.

A goof?

But half of that may now come out of government coffers, and it could prove to be embarrassing for the Obama administration, presuming the president and Hayward did not discuss the issue at their recent meeting, says David Desser, managing director of Juris Capital, which invests in corporate litigation. It was after that meeting that Hayward announced the $20 billion escrow fund.

“You would have thought in advance of that meeting, they would have thought of all of those issues,” Desser said. “How do you un-ring that bell?”

The rest here.