Private equity tax: The right friends

A critique of private equity circulating on Capitol Hill has buyout shops worried. The document slams the industry for, among other things, paying too little tax on carried interest. This plays into the hands of revenue-hungry politicians, like Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus and ranking Republican Charles Grassley, who are considering changing the rules. But buyout barons are finding they’ve got some powerful allies - including the heavyweight lobbyists of the real estate and the oil and gas...