Trump's signature tax break for poor people went to subsidize a superyacht marina in Florida

Trump's 2017 #taxscam transferred more than a trillion dollars to the richest people in America, but when Trump talks about it, he likes to tout the bill's "opportunity zone" provisions that provided massive tax breaks to investors who put money into places that would supposedly create jobs and housing for poor Americans.

But which regions get designated as "opportunity zones" was left up to state governments, and have become a corruption bonanza as major political donors lean on state governors to designate their pet property developments as tax-havens, even as actual poor neighborhoods in desperate need of investment are turned down for status.

This is especially visible in Florida, where then-Governor Rick Scott handed his top donors special tax designations for luxury projects, while turning down multiple applications from some of Florida's poorest areas.

Among Florida's "opportunity zones" are Rybovich marina, a marina for $100m+ superyachts abutted by luxury condo towers called Marina Village. They're owned by Wayne Huizenga Jr, the scion of the Blockbuster Video fortune, who lobbied Scott for the marina's inclusion, resulting in a change to the designation plans. Other billionaire Scott donors also cashed in on the "opportunity zone" scam, thanks to their stake in Marina Village. Billionaire Tampa Ball Lightning owner Jeff Vinik, another Scott donor, got a tax break for his luxury residence/hotel/shop development in Tampa.

The beneficiaries of this corruption insisted to Propublica that they weren't seeking tax breaks for themselves, but rather, they were motivated by concern for small-time investors who might build on adjacent lands. Read the rest