Taxing (Wall Street) Labor at Capital Gains Rates: “Heads I Win, Tails I Don’t Lose” Of all the disingenuous, self-serving, cockamamie lies arguments served up by the leveraged buyout — er, private equity — crowd to protect the (very) favorable tax treatment on their labor (called “carried interest”), the one that rankles the most is...Read More
Quid Pro Quo: Higher Rate for Inflation Indexing With Mitt (“Carried Interest”) Romney ascendant — and the U.S. deficit bulging — capital gains’ current, historically low tax rate (15% for long-term gains) is coming under intensifying scrutiny. Should capital gains be taxed higher — and more like earned income? Probably. But they almost certainly should be indexed...Read More
“But isn’t that . . . ‘Socialism’??” He who frames the question wins the debate. I’ve been struck in recent months, talking to various people about the economy, by two things: One. The generally limited vocabulary people have when it comes to understanding all things financial — even people who are otherwise very sophisticated, well-educated,...Read More
Schwarzman’s “Nazi’s” Comparison We have met the enemy, and he is . . . us. –Pogo Stephen Schwarzman, a Wall Street honcho, made headlines last month for comparing President Obama’s proposal to raise (the absurdly low) tax rates on hedge fund compensation — called “carried interest” — to Hitler’s invasion of Poland. Funny, I had...Read More
