bad marketing executive and fast tax write-off?

[HaraKiriBlade]

Again, this is taken from Catch-22. This part I'm quoting describes a character that had its uses for being a very bad marketing executive. I don't know what being a very bad marketing executive has anything to do with being a dependable man for a fast tax write-off, but that's what the paragraph seems to suggest. I don't know a whole lot about business stuff, and if anyone could help me out I'd really appreciate it.

Colonel Cargill, General Peckem's troubleshooter, was a forceful, ruddy man. Before the war he had been an alart, hard-hitting, aggressive marketing executive. He was a very bad marketing executive. Colonel Cargill was so aweful a marketing executive that his services were much sought after by firms eager to establish losses for tax purposes. Throughout the civilized world, from Battery Park to Fulton Street, he was known as a dependable man for a fast tax write-off. His prices were high, for failure often did not come easily.

[Tdol]

People would hire him to do things wrong so that they could add losses to their accounts to save money- he was so bad, he could lose you some money quickly, which would be fully tax-deductible, hence reducing your overall bill.

[HaraKiriBlade]

That's some way to run business! so you're saying there are times when the taxes outweigh the loss that it's better to lose money than pay the taxes? If that holds true, I wonder how the world is really run. I find it quite absurd.

[Tdol]

I don't understand much about business, but a healthy loss can be deducted against profits over a few years, I believe.