Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The 'Stop the Taxes' Letters of the Private Equity Council

EPJ has obtained a copy of an email sent out by the lobbying arm of private equity operators such as Carlyle Group. The lobbying group, known as the Private Equity Council, sent out the following email to its members. It contains two different suggested letters that PE firms can use to let Senators know how horrific of an idea it is to raise taxes on PE firms:

PEC NETWORK LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT

The Obama Administration is intensifying its efforts to more than double taxes on private equity -- so we're asking you to help the Private Equity Council tell Congress how important private equity investment can be for growing our economy and creating new jobs.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently vowed to push Congress harder to change the tax treatment of carried interest from long-term capital gains to ordinary income -- in effect raising the rate from 15 percent to more than 35 percent. From our vantage point, raising taxes on growth investments just doesn't make sense -- particularly during this time of fragile economic recovery.

The House of Representatives has approved this tax increase three times, most recently last December, but the proposal has never passed the Senate. That's why your voice is so important on this issue. Your Senators need to hear how this tax increase will impact your growth investments in their home states.

Please send a letter to your Senators today to tell them how private equity contributes to the economy. To send your letter, please click on the link below to visit the PEC Legislative Action Center.

PEC Legislative Action Center

The Action Center offers you a choice. If you do not want to directly ask your Senator to oppose higher taxes on carried interest, you can send a letter that explains the importance of private equity investment generally and the importance of adopting tax policies that encourage investment. You can access that first letter under the heading: "Support Policies that Encourage Investment and Growth."

Or, if you prefer, you also have the option of sending an alternate letter, which you'll find under the heading: "Now is Not the Time to Raise Taxes on Carried Interest." That letter directly asks your Senator to oppose the Administration's proposal to more than double taxes on carried interest.

Either letter would be helpful, and you should select the version with which you're most comfortable. Of course, you should also feel free to use these letters as templates that you can customize to put your views in your own words.

With your help, we can do a better job of explaining to Congress how private equity benefits the national economy, and why now is not the time to raise taxes on investment.

Thank you.

The Private Equity Council
It should be noted that while raising taxes on anyone, except Congressmen and Administration officials, is never a good idea, Carlyle Group, and the like, never have any problem using government money, taxed away from others, to prop up their business ventures.

2 comments:

  1. This helps explain Evan Bayh's retirement. He'll block for PEU's one last time, then likely work for one. The Carlyle Group made Evan's top 10 donor list. Might they give the old bean a job? If so, he can finally out earn his wife.

    ReplyDelete
  2. They don't need to send a letter. PEU boys can just pick up the phone and call.

    http://peureport.blogspot.com/2010/01/white-house-entertains-peus.html

    ReplyDelete