Joshua Zitser/Insider, AP Photo
- Justice Clarence Thomas and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow's yacht trips have come under scrutiny again.
- Per ProPublica, Crow registered his yacht as a charter vessel but only took close friends on trips.
- As a result, he could pay his own company, report losses, and save on his tax bill, per ProPublica.
Billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow's lavish yacht trips with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have been facilitated by questionable tax practices, according to a new report.
Crow's relationship with Thomas has been scrutinized since ProPublica reported that Crow funded years of vacations for Thomas, who failed to disclose the outings. Some of those were trips aboard Crow's yacht, the Michaela Rose, and were organized through Rochelle Charter, a company registered to charter the yacht.
But the trips on the yacht — registered as a charter vessel — were actually limited to Crow's inner circle, according to ProPublica. Crow paid his own company for private trips on the yacht and was able to secure tax breaks and lower his tax bill, according to tax data from 2003 through 2015 reviewed by ProPublica.
Tax experts and politicians who spoke to the outlet said that such a practice could amount to gaming the system and should be audited.
"Based on what information is available, this has the look of a textbook billionaire tax scam," Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden told ProPublica.
A representative for Crow did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
But it points out that Crow recorded $8 million in losses for the family company Rochelle Charter, saving on taxes as a result between 2003 and 2015. The megadonor purported to charter the boat for profit and instead took friends like Thomas for cruises, per the report.
Thomas did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
In April, Crow and Thomas first faced scrutiny related to the 20 years worth of undisclosed trips Crow is accused of gifting to Thomas, per ProPublica. The outlet later reported that Crow purchased Thomas' mother's house and allowed her to live there without paying rent.
In response, Thomas — who asked for an extension to file his financial disclosure forms this year — said that at the time he wasn't aware that he was meant to disclose the trips with Crow.
Crow claimed to the Dallas Morning News that the revelations about his relationship with Thomas were a "political hit job."
Congress has probed Crow's and Thomas's relationship, asking for a detailed disclosure of the gifts that Crow has bestowed to Supreme Court justices.
As it stands, a group of judges, the Committee on Financial Disclosure, is investigating Thomas and disclosure rules, while Senate Democrats have mounted a separate attempt to investigate Thomas and other justices.