June, 30 2021, 03:36pm EDT
Patriotic Millionaires Blast Private Equity Campaign to Protect the Carried Interest Loophole
"The American Investment Council is lying to lawmakers and the American people to protect their special tax break."
WASHINGTON
This morning, details were released about a series of political advertisements, sponsored by the private equity industry, defending the carried interest loophole in a series of key Congressional districts and states. This ad campaign comes on the heels of a concerted lobbying effort by the industry, particularly the American Investment Council, to defend this loophole that allows millionaire fund managers to pay a lower tax rate than most working Americans.
In response to this report, Morris Pearl, former managing director at BlackRock, Inc., and Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, released the following statement:
"We need to call this what it is: a misinformation campaign. The private equity industry's claims that closing the carried interest loophole would discourage investment are simply not true. Closing the carried interest loophole wouldn't discourage investment because it does not affect investment! None of the returns of investors in private equity funds would be affected in any way by this rule change - the only thing that would change is the tax rate that fund managers pay on their income from their fees. The American Investment Council knows this - they are lying to lawmakers and the American people to protect their special tax break.
The carried interest loophole is truly indefensible. There is no reason why private equity fund managers should pay lower tax rates than the vast majority of working people. Their compensation structure, with variable income dependent on performance, is no different than a restaurant servers or a car salesman or millions of other hard working Americans. Their income should be taxed as income, period."
The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.
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