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Deep inside the CARES Act, which became law in late March, was a tremendous tax break that disproportionately benefited some of the very same industries on which Loeffler's husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, had purchased shortly before the Act was introduced (aka made public). https://twitter.com/GeorgiaDemocrat/status/1336451277446934532
As a way of quickly injecting corporations with billions in ready cash, the CARES Act allowed businesses to âcarry backâ certain losses to previous tax years and claim a retroactive tax refund.
In the three days just before its unveiling, Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin met twice with Senate Republicans behind closed doors to discuss the billâs particulars, & Senate Republicans held a private lunch to brief their members on some specific proposals the bill would contain.
The terms of the carryback are extraordinarily generous. Corporations can deduct losses they incur this year or even before the pandemic â as far back as 2018 â from a previous tax year and obtain a retroactive refund. For that deduction, companies can select a year as far back
as the Obama administration, when corporate tax rates were 67% higher â which drives their potential refund even higher.
This is kind of crazy, to be honest.
This is kind of crazy, to be honest.
Assurant, a financial behemoth that sells life, catastrophe and property insurance, is a prime example of how much a single corporation could benefit. In May, the company announced that it had used its 2018 tax loss to book a one-time tax savings of $79 million.
Assurant is also one of the companies on which Sprecher placed a lucky bet: On March 18, the day before the CARES Act was introduced, Loefflerâs husband purchased between $250,000 - $500,000 of the companyâs stock.
Later, when the couple faced pressure to clear their holdings of individual stocks, he appears to have sold those shares at a profit.
Trading on nonpublic congressional information is illegal â and the very idea is so corrosive that many lawmakers forgo trading in individual stocks altogether.
Kedric Payne, general counsel to the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan government watchdog:
âThe appearance of conflict is terrible for maintaining the publicâs trust in government.
âThe appearance of conflict is terrible for maintaining the publicâs trust in government.
Thereâs a reason all our ethics rules focus on the appearance of there being conflict of interest: because perception is reality. Itâs really difficult to maintain credibility when your constituents donât know if youâre focused on their interests or your own financial interests.â
@SenatorLoeffler scandals will be never ending while she's in the Senate. She didn't take on the position to make life better for Georgians, she's using it to further enrich herself and her 1% friends. Enough corruption, Georgians deserve change.
Vote @ReverendWarnock
Vote @ReverendWarnock
