When Republicans tried to sell their major tax scam to the American people, they said that it would help the average worker. Once it took effect, however, reality set in: The richest benefited from this handout. There’s been news of continued layoffs and store closures, while company shareholders get even more money. Workers, meanwhile, are left out in the cold.
If you want even more reason to rage about the despicable tax cuts, check out this Wall Street Journal article, featuring executives basically gushing about how the tax scam left them able to buy fancier planes.
I wish this was from the Onion. Unfortunately, the article is extremely real. The euphemistically titled piece discusses how the private plane industry has been booming lately. Now companies can write off the complete cost of their pricey planes. Before the change, the deduction rate was around 50 percent for new planes, and lower for used ones.
Rich people are quite pleased by this. Now that these executives know that the government essentially is paying for their new planes, younger wealthy people are getting in on the action, making the used-jet market boom. Oh, and other people can also get that nicer plane they’ve always wanted but was always just out of reach.
The write-off does allow some buyers to splurge on bigger, faster jets that cost between $7 million and $10 million that they otherwise might not afford, Ms. Meiners-Levy said.
Jessica Mah, head of San Francisco accounting-software firm inDinero Inc., has been testing out potential planes in anticipation of buying next year. She has a budget of as much as $10 million, assuming she can get the 100% deduction.
“It goes from being completely unaffordable to being like, ‘Oh my God, not only is this not unaffordable but it’s kind of a no-brainer,’ ” she said.
Must be nice.