U.S. Congressman Ken Buck on Tuesday offered an amendment to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that would prohibit tax subsidies for legal settlements related to sexual assault or sexual harassment, according to a news release from Buck’s office.
In the release, Rep. Buck, R-Colo., takes aim at Hollywood as a reason for the amendment to House Resolution 1.
“America has been watching Hollywood for decades, but not watching closely enough,” Buck said in the release. “Behind the red carpets and glitzy premieres is a culture of deceit and depravity.”
Buck went on to say in the release that Congress must rethink the way it treats Hollywood by eliminating the business expense deduction for hush money associated with sexual assault and sexual harassment cases.
Today, when companies pay settlements and legal fees, the costs can be written off as ordinary and necessary business expenses.
“In Hollywood, this means that when companies settle a sexual harassment or sexual assault case and then deduct that settlement from their tax liability, the American taxpayer effectively subsidizes those companies’ costs of covering up the illegal behavior,” Buck said in the release.
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