Bloomberg Quint: Scaramucci Is Said to Seek Federal Tax Break on SkyBridge Sale
Anthony Scaramucci wants to put off a tax bill that could reach millions of dollars on the pending sale of his stake in SkyBridge Capital, according to people familiar with the matter. But the incoming White House communications director might have a problem.
The sale was announced before he became a government employee, and that could make him ineligible for a tax break that’s designed to let investors serve in government without getting hit with massive tax penalties, experts say.
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“Even if the sale of SkyBridge Capital hasn’t closed yet, it would be hard to argue that the government forced him to enter into the deal to resolve conflicts of interest” in his planned new role as White House communications director, said Walter Shaub, the former director of the federal Office of Government Ethics, in a message posted to Twitter on Sunday. Shaub resigned earlier this month.
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“It’s probably a gray area, but I don’t think he should get it,” said Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center. Noble said asset sales qualify only in cases where government officials order them -- a process that normally would begin after a potential appointee files a required financial-disclosure document.