Carried Interest Loophole Bill

January 31, 2017

Facing a $1.5BB deficit and an upcoming budget expected to be laden with additional cuts to services and jobs, I joined fellow lawmakers and advocates today to introduce Proposed Bill 6973, which would close the “carried interest” tax loophole, which would generate more than $520 million for the state. Similar bills are planned or have been introduced this year in New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island as part of a regionally coordinated effort between lawmakers. Presently, the tax loophole allows a small, extremely wealthy group of hedge fund and private equity managers to pay much lower taxes for the fruit of their labor than everyone else.

The bill, which has 35 legislative co-sponsors, has the strong support of economic and tax justice advocates the Working Families Organization, Patriotic Millionaires, Hedge Clippers, Make the Road CT, and Connecticut Voices for Children, a fiscal policy organization that advocates for Connecticut’s families.

In a state that has the second most millionaires per capita, in a budget cycle where we are looking at a $1.5BB deficit, cutting services exclusively for the working class seems totally out of step with reality. When you couple that with the fact that hedge fund and private equity managers get to play by a completely different set of tax rules than anyone else, you see the need to address the problem immediately. This isn't about raising revenue, nor is it about punishing the wealthy. This is about telling the public that the laws that emanate from the Capitol are fair and rooted in common sense.

To read more about this bill, click on the press release below!