17. A tax law made children ‘disappear’
An Internal Revenue Service rule change in 1987 required individuals who paid taxes to list dependents’ Social Security numbers for the first time. As a result, approximately 7 million children which represented a tenth of all dependent children in the country at the time—” suddenly disappeared”.
18. Madison Square Garden gets a big tax break
Madison Square Garden, the famous New York sports, music, and entertainment venue, has not had to pay property taxes since 1982 (38 years ago).
This arrangement was supposed to end after ten years, according to then-mayor Edward Koch, but due to the disputed wording of the agreement, it still remains in perpetuity. The break has cost New York City an estimated $555 million.
