This past year has shown that many famous men had covered up their predatory sexual abuse of women (and sometimes other men) by non-disclosure agreements. $45 million dollars were paid by or on behalf of Fox News host Bill O’Reilly to settle sexual harassment claims, almost none of which was publicly revealed due to confidentiality agreements.
Congress has sought to do something about this in the new tax law but, in most cases, it will have little or no effect on big businesses, religious organizations or Congressmen who abuse. It will harm little businessmen who care about their reputations and it will even harm victims of abuse. The Internal Revenue Code was amended to read that no tax deduction will be allowed for any settlement or payment made related to sexual harassment or abuse if such settlement is subject to a non-disclosure agreement. It also forbids anyone from deducting attorney’s fees arising from such a settlement.
