Rangel Pushes Corporate Tax-Rate Cut

But bill is unlikely to make it through the Senate unchanged

(NEWSER) - The House passed a sweeping tax-reform bill yesterday—shifting some $78 billion in taxes from middle-class families to the super-rich—that is expected to get little traction in the Senate and has already drawn the promise of a presidential veto. The bill would exempt middle-income families from the Alternative Minimum Tax and offset the cost by closing loopholes that benefit private equity and hedge fund managers. More»

Thanks to an army of lobbyists, they've dodged reforms

(NEWSER) - While Wall Street banks are being hauled before Congress for public reprimand, hedge funds and private equity firms have floated blissfully above the fray, thanks to an army of well-connected lobbyists. More than half of the 83 new lobbyists who signed up with the industry's two main trade groups last year came from government jobs, Politico reports. That includes three former members of Congress, and several former top staffers for the Senate Banking Committee. More»

(NEWSER) - Tim Geithner today proposed a major expansion of federal regulatory powers, reports the Washington Post. In testimony before Congress, the Treasury chief called for hedge funds, derivatives markets, private equity firms, and major insurers like AIG to be brought under strict federal supervision for the first time. His plan, which requires congressional approval, would reverse decades of deregulation. More»

Oil-drilling company helped finance NY rep's legacy project

(NEWSER) - As questions swirl over the methods Charles Rangel used to raise funds for a school in his name, a New York Times investigation finds that the New York representative and chair of the House Ways and Means committee fought to save a tax loophole that benefited one of the school's donors. The loophole enabled Nabors Industries, an oil-drilling firm whose CEO pledged $1 million to the project, to maintain an offshore tax shelter. More»

Fate of pending deals may foretell future of private equity

(NEWSER) - Kolhberg Kravis Roberts is pushing forward with some of the biggest deals in US history, but the iconic buyout firm finds itself under unprecedented scrutiny. Analysts say the huge deals KKR has pending will be a test of the struggling credit markets, the Washington Post reports: If they don't go through, the age of private equity may be over. More»