We urge Senators Warren, Sanders, Merkley, Udall, Franken, Harkin, Brown, Baldwin, Gillibrand, Schumer, Shaheen, Murray, Mikulski, Murphy and Reid to co-sponsor S. 268, the Cut Loopholes Act, which reforms a number of egregious tax loopholes, including the infamous "carried interest" loophole.
Why is this important?
The great majority of Americans believe that "the playing field is rigged" in favor of the wealthy and well-connected. The Cut Tax Loopholes Act, introduced by Sen. Carl Levin in February 2013, and which inexplicably has only one co-sponsor to date, R.I. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, seeks to address one part of our unfair "playing field" - tax loopholes.
Amongst these is the "carried interest" loophole that allows hedge fund and private equity managers to have the bulk of their income, earned from managing their respective funds, taxed at a much lower capital gains rate rather than at ordinary income tax rates. The top hedge fund manager in 2013 reportedly made $3.5 billion, which based on a 40-hour workweek and 50- week work-year was over $29,000 per minute! Permitting this loophole and the others addressed by the Cut Tax Loopholes Act is an affront to every hard working American who believes in the American dream based on “working hard and playing by the same rules.”
