WaPo reporter: tax provisions in coronavirus stimulus package help wealthy

4/17/2020

Jeff Stein, an economics reporter with the Washington Post, said on Hill TV’s “Rising” Friday that provisions in the coronavirus bill help millionaires in the U.S. through tax benefits.

Stein noted that Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation found that 83 percent of the tax benefits included in the CARES Act will benefit those making more than a million a year.

“A lot of the provisions, especially the tax cut provisions, flew under the radar,” Stein said. “And one of them was a change to what businesses can carry back in losses. Essentially what that means is that businesses who will take huge losses this year can use those losses to offset their tax deduction and their tax obligation in other years and other forms of payments.”

Stein said that those who qualify for these provisions can use this year’s losses to avoid paying taxes on capital gains and other income that was made in previous years, before the pandemic affected their operations.

“That is really a benefit for a very narrow slice of extremely rich people," Stein said. "...Quietly Congress snuck a ton of tax measures, many of which are really aimed at helping the wealthy, in this package that basically everyone had to vote for or they were going to deny unemployment benefits and the 1,200 checks and small business loans."