A nonpartisan congressional analysis has concluded that a tax provision within the recently signed $2.2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package will primarily benefit Americans that earn over $1 million annually. The provision in question allows business owners to deduct any desired amount of money in business losses from taxes related to nonbusiness ventures. This includes things like stocks and bonds. Naturally, this has drawn a fair amount of criticism from politicians and citizens who believe that Republicans are using the pandemic as a loophole to prioritize the well-being of wealthy taxpayers.
The Coronavirus stimulus package repealed a previously established tax law that set a $250,000 limit on the aforementioned non-business deductions. According to Matt Gardener, a senior fellow at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “It is a really big deal for a really small group of wealthy people”. Senate republicans have defended this policy, explaining that by alleviating financial strain on businesses, they will be able to retain employees that would otherwise be laid off from diminished income.
This analysis has placed President Trump under scrutiny, as large real-estate investors are one of the key groups that benefit heavily from these tax breaks. This is compounded with the fact that President Trump has refused to disclose any of his financial information despite multiple requests to do so. The supreme court is currently scheduled to hear a series of three cases relating to the president’s financial records at some point in May. This is coming after weeks of delay due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
