News / Politics

Kushner likely paid no taxes for years due to business tax break: New York Times

Saturday, 13 October 2018 7:26 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 14 October 2018 12:35 PM ]

Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, listens during a meeting in the Oval office of the White House on October 9, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has apparently for years avoided paying much taxes, according to a report.

According to an article published on Saturday in the New York Times (NYT), Kushner, who also a senior White House adviser, probably paid little or no income tax for several years running.

Kushner is worth more than $300 million and has earned millions off his family’s real-estate holdings, but has paid little in taxes, NYT reported after reviewing confidential financial documents.

The article said Kushner may have paid almost no federal income taxes from 2009 to 2016. He was able to avoid paying taxes by reporting the depreciation os his real estate holdings, a widely used tax break that is designed to account for the damage properties incur over time.

The article said Kushner earned $1.7 million in salary in 2015 and offset that income with more than $8.3 million in losses written off as a “significant depreciation”.

A 2017 tax-reform package that Congress passed in December allowed businesses to immediately write off more under depreciation and increased the maximum deduction from $500,000 to $1 million, according to the IRS.

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Donald Trump has told his wealthy friends that his new tax law would help them make even more money, according to a report.

The new law allowed property owners to expense improvements to nonresidential properties related to roofing, heating and air conditioning, fire protection systems and alarm systems.

The Times article follows an in-depth investigation the paper published earlier this month on how Trump used a special tax-sheltering vehicle known as a grantor-retained annuity trust to inherit millions of dollars worth of his father’s real estate tax-free.

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The dubious scheme used by Trump for his inheritance money, which exceeded $400 million in today's money, helped cut his tax liability, according to the NYT.

Trump defended the use of tax breaks at his debate with Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign.

When Clinton criticized Trump for avoiding to pay taxes in full, Trump replied to Clinton saying that the avoidance of paying taxes made him seem "smart.”

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