Freshman Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)–who recently helped destroy a deal between Amazon and New York which would have brought thousands of high-paying jobs to the city–once sought a tax break for her own business, according to the Washington Examiner.
In 2012, Ocasio-Cortez sought tax benefits for her start-up children’s book publication company, Brook Avenue Press.
In a news release in 2012, the entrepreneurial Ocasio-Cortez said, “Plenty of entrepreneurs have started their businesses on a shoestring and any break they receive means more flexibility for further growth. A tax break could mean part-time work for someone else or keeping a business’ doors open long enough to turn a profit.”
She continues, “Young entrepreneurs are playing a special role in developing promising, creative enterprises for our future, and a small break can open up their resources for hiring, creating a new product, or reinvesting in the local economy.”
The Examiner writes, “Ocasio-Cortez was one of several Bronx-based entrepreneurs and start-up advocates quoted in the release, put out by Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in support for the proposed Small Business Start-up Support Act. The bill would have increased deductions for start-up costs from $5,000 to $10,000.”
According to a March report in the New York Post, Ocasio-Cortez’s now-defunct company owes $1,870.36 in unpaid corporate taxes.
The state slapped the company with a warrant on July 6, 2017, two months after Ocasio-Cortez announced her candidacy to run against Democratic incumbent Joe Crowley for the district that encompasses parts of Queens and The Bronx.
The state requires businesses to pay a corporation tax on a sliding scale based on revenue. The minimum payment last year was $25.
“The company probably got numerous letters from the state and probably ignored them,” one New York City accountant theorized.
Public records show the state dissolved the company in October 2016, which can happen when a business fails to pay corporate taxes or file a return.
