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Drew Harwell over at the Washington Post has an interesting story about a tax loophole that could allow Trump appointees to avoid paying millions in taxes.
President-elect Donald Trump's ultra-wealthy Cabinet nominees will be able to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes in the coming weeks when they sell some of their holdings to avoid conflicts of interest in their new positions.
The tax advantage will allow Trump officials, forced by ethics laws to sell certain assets, to defer the weighty tax bills they would otherwise owe on the profits from selling stock and other holdings.
The benefit is one of the more subtle ways that the millionaires and billionaires of Trump's White House, which already will be the wealthiest administration in modern American history, could benefit financially from their transition into the nation's halls of power.
The legal tax maneuver, offered for years to executive-branch appointees and employees, was designed to help ease the sting of being forced to suddenly sell investments.
But the federal program, encoded in Section 2634 of federal ethics laws and known as a "certificate of divestiture," has never been tested quite like this. Trump's Cabinet picks have amassed assets worth billions of dollars from lifetimes in banking and investing, much of which they will be able to sell tax-free.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @11:15AM
Your bias shows. This is not about Trump but the law. Tone down your prosecution syndrome righty...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday December 05 2016, @02:54PM
Why is "THE LAW" suddenly so important and sacred when it's not your guy in the spotlight? I really didn't hear a whole lot of liberals pontificating about "THE LAW" when it was a question of Hillary's obeying it. Then it was, "Oh this is no big deal you're making a mountain out of a molehill Republicans do it too."
Let's apply our reverence for the law equally, or not at all. I say, let's apply our reverence for the law equally (but make damn sure we've the right laws on the books).
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @05:35PM
Ask your local police that question... How is this related to Hillary? Hint: not at all.
Keep your partisan ranting to yourself. Please.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 05 2016, @05:36PM
> Why is "THE LAW" suddenly so important and sacred when it's not your guy in the spotlight?
Every candidate has their own issues. Its the press's job to report on whatever those issues are.
This particular issue is significant this time because Trump's cabinet candidates are (a) super wealthy so there is a lot more money involved and (b) generally under-qualified which directly leads to the question of what other factors might be involved.
Frankly I'm sick of this bullshit that the press plays favorites as an excuse to dismiss reporting. The press is imperfect, far from omniscient and vastly under-resourced. Stories get traction not just because the press covers them, but also because the public is receptive to them. If the main defense of corruption is "the last guy did it too" then that is a recipe for institutionalizing corruption.