House Dems Revive Bill to Close Carried-Interest Loophole

Democratic lawmakers introduced Tuesday the Ending Wall Street Tax Giveaway Act, their latest effort to close the so-called carried interest loophole.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J.; Don Beyer, D-Va.; and Katie Porter, D-Calif.

The carried interest loophole “allows hedge fund managers to pay a lower rate on their taxes than ordinary working people,” Beyer said in a statement, and “is deeply unfair.”

Under current law, carried interest — profits of private equity, venture capital and hedge funds that are paid out to partners as compensation — is taxed not as income but at the lower capital gains rate.

Pascrell called the tax break “a giveaway to private equity tycoons — some of the wealthiest people on the planet — that helps them routinely pay lower tax rates than their secretaries and janitors.”