Scaramucci could suffer a $12 million kiss-off
Stint was too brief for tax allowance
WASHINGTON Anthony Scaramucci took no salary during his short tenure as White House communications director — yet his 10-day career detour could end up presenting him with a tax bill of $12 million or more. That’s because the New York hedge fund founder left the White House before he could obtain a “certificate of divestiture” giving him the special tax treatment available to federal employees who give up assets so they can avoid conflicts of interest. Without that certificate, the sale of Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital to a Chinese holding company will be taxed at the long-term capital gains rate of 15% to 20%. According to Scaramucci’s financial disclosure report, his 43.8% share of the sale is worth at least $50 million; other estimates put that number even higher. would Scaramucci’sdepend on exacta numbertax billof factors, including the final value of the company, how much he invested in it over time and any off-
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At the top marginal long-term capital gains rate of 20% — plus a 3.8% surtax under the Affordable Care Act — the bill could be, conservatively, $10 million to $12 million.
The Office of Government Ethics would not comment on Scaramucci’s application for that special tax treatment. But certificates are a matter of public record, and no such certificate has been granted to Scaramucci. Under OGE regulations, the agency will grant certificates only to current employees of the executive branch. That certificate allows a federal employee to reinvest the proceeds of the asset sale — with capital gains taxes deferred — into U.S. Treasuries or a diversified mutual fund that would not present a conflict of interest.
The Export-Import Bank, the federal agency where Scaramucci was chief strategy officer and senior vice president before moving to the White House, said he officially left his job there July 25.
SkyBridge announced it struck the deal with the Chinese company, HNA Group, in January — the same time Scaramucci said he would step down as the firm’s comanaging partner as he prepared to take a different senior job within the Trump administration.
President Trump’s then-chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and other staffers had blocked his appointment — a point Scaramucci referred to in crude and colorful language in an infamous rant to The New Yorker. Priebus was overruled when Trump brought in Scaramucci as communications director July 21.
Scaramucci left his White House job Monday — the same day Trump brought on his new chief of staff, John Kelly — before a certificate of divestiture could be issued.
Even though SkyBridge made the announcement of its sale in January, it has been held up by a legally required national security review.
Canceling the sale is not an option, both SkyBridge and HNA Group said.
“Recent developments with Anthony Scaramucci and his role within the administration have no impact on our business and/or the transaction with HNA,” SkyBridge said in a statement.
“The news about Anthony Scaramucci leaving his role as White House communications director has no impact on HNA’s commitment to closing the SkyBridge transaction as soon as possible,” spokesman Bob Rendine said.
Scaramucci and his lawyer did not return several messages seeking comment.
Scaramucci did work in the administration just long enough to be bound by the post-employment restrictions under Trump’s executive order on ethics in the executive branch. He signed an ethics pledge barring him from working as a lobbyist for five years after leaving government — and from ever representing a foreign government. The White House said he hasn’t requested or received any waiver.
Scaramucci scheduled an announcement about his future for Friday but canceled. “Focusing on Family, My Work in The Private Sector,” he tweeted Thursday. “Stay Tuned!”