Monday, March 28, 2022

Biden Proposes Billionaires Pay "Carried Interest" Tax Rate


The public has long simmered over preferred taxation for private equity underwriters (PEU), known as carried interest.  Barron's reported last summer.

...carried interest is taxed at the 20% capital-gains rate rather than ordinary income rates up to 37%, thus investment managers pay lower rates than many wage earners. That galls observers.

President Biden floated a new tax on America's billionaire class and it is the exact same amount as PEU preferred taxation, 20%.  The tax would be applied to unrealized capital gains.   It has special provisions for assets held in private companies, i.e private equity underwriter wealth.

Many billionaires and wealthy Congress persons make use of trusts, which shelter gains from taxes. America's richest Senator Rick Scott has much of his ample wealth stashed in various trusts.

Cue Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein to call the amount raised by the move "not serious money."

The Biden plan would treat increases in billionaire wealth as capital gains/carried interest for tax purposes.  That galls this observer.