Senate Democrats allege that Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Treasury secretary, falsely claimed nearly $2 million in tax losses related to hedge funds and owes nearly $1 million in taxes. Circulating notes. Thursday at the Finance Committee meeting.
The memo, obtained by POLITICO, was prepared by the Finance Committee staff under Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and says Bessent will be in control of his hedge fund Key – Alleges that he had to pay $910,182 in taxes on income earned through Square Group. Mr. Bessent was able to avoid that income because he claimed he was a “limited partner” and did not make decisions for Key Square, according to the memo.
Democratic staffers on the Finance Committee argue that Mr. Bessent was clearly actively involved in decisions about the fund.
The memo also includes Bessent’s claims from income related to All Seasons Press, a conservative book publisher that published books by former Trump aide Peter Navarro and others, as well as a glittering biography of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. It also emphasizes the losses incurred. The memo alleges that Bessent did not adequately substantiate the $1,939,296 loss, citing ASP records showing that Bessent was not actively involved in the publisher’s business.
A spokesperson for President Trump’s transition office called the claims “baseless.”
“Mr. Scott Bessent paid his taxes. After providing thousands of pages of records through an exhaustive process, neither Sen. Wyden nor his staff have been able to produce any evidence that Mr. Scott violated the Internal Revenue Code.” said the spokesperson.
“Instead, they resort to subjective interpretations of tax law, including taking positions contrary to the views of the majority of tax experts, accountants, and lawyers, in order to mislead the public.”
The memo is sure to intensify questions about Mr. Bessent’s taxes from Democrats on the Finance Committee during his nomination hearing Thursday. And the memo makes it clear that Mr. Wyden has given Mr. Bessent a chance to lead the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, which under President Joe Biden’s administration are focused on eliminating tax avoidance exploited by the ultra-wealthy. It becomes possible to depict the situation as having nothing to do with (becoming).
But Bessent, a longtime hedge fund manager, is unlikely to lose support from Republicans who have rapidly rallied behind him, especially from Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). is unlikely to jeopardize its eventual path to approval, as it has pledged to change its support. Nominate immediately.
“Mr. Bessent complied with the law and provided thousands of pages of documents as part of the committee’s rigorous review process,” Crapo spokeswoman Mandy Critchfield said in response to the memo.
In addition to potential problems with Bessent’s hedge fund income and ASP investments, the memo also points out that Bessent has deducted $500,000 in “bad debt” on his 2023 tax return. Mr. Bessent argues that there is insufficient explanation to prove that this deduction was not made. It’s actually a gift or a personal loan.
Democratic staffers also said Mr. Bessent likely used a workaround to circumvent the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions and claimed a $40,000 write-off from the cooperative he had invested in. I am doing it.
Democratic staffers suggested Bessent amend his tax returns, but Bessent refused, according to the memo. In one lawsuit, Bessent said he would consider amending his tax returns if a tax law ruling related to his hedge fund’s “limited partnership” status was filed in the high court.