Obama's 2011 Budget: Tax Increases for Hedge Fund and Private Equity

President Barack Obama is proposing to have carried interest earned by hedge fund and private equity fund managers taxed as ordinary income.

(February 2, 2010) — President Obama outlined his 2011 budget blueprint on Monday, asking hedge fund and private equity managers to handle a big chunk of the bill for his proposed $3.76 trillion budget.

The president’s plan would eliminate the so-called carried-interest loophole, which taxes fee income earned by alternative investments professionals as capital gains. Obama’s plan would tax performance fee as ordinary income, nearly tripling the amount some managers would pay and boosting the tax rate from 15% to typically the highest income bracket. According to the administration, the plan could raise $24 billion over a decade.

The plan passed in the House of Representatives, but its been blocked in Senate. Many lawmakers of both parties worry entrepreneurship and investment would be compromised by a tax increase on so-called carried interest. According to the

Wall Street Journal, supporters of the president’s plan say it’s unfair fund managers’ income should be taxed at a lower rate than wages.

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Additionally, Obama has proposed ending tax cuts championed by President George W. Bush, raising taxes on families making more than $250,000 annually. This would increase the top income-tax bracket to 39.6% and would net nearly $1 trillion in new revenues for the struggling government.

Obama is looking for another $122 billion from banks and multinational corporations, and $37 billion more from oil and gas companies, reported FINalternatives.



To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742

LACERA Terminates Mandates With Blackrock and Goldman

At its January 13 board meeting, the LA retirement association dropped Blackrock and Goldman mandates because of lagging performance.

(February 1, 2010) — The Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association has terminated Blackrock’s $450 million Alpha Tilts mandate and Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s $240 million enhanced-index mandate, due to sub par performance and organizational changes.

Senior investment officer-equities June Kim told emii.com that Blackrock’s acquisition of Barclays Global Investors in 2009 could expose the fund to unnecessary risk and that the departures of Goldman Sachs’ Quantitative Investment Strategies Chairman Robert Litterman and co-CIO Robert Jones could deter the firm’s focus.

For the year ending November 30,  BlackRock’s Alpha Tilts strategy returned 23.7% while Goldman Sachs’ Equity Enhanced Index strategy returned 23.6%. Their benchmark, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, returned 25.4% for the same period, reported emii.com. According to the online publication, the cash from these mandates would go toward funding LACERA’s international equity portfolio.

The fund will additionally consider a $200 million investment in Analytic Investors’ 130/30 commingled fund.

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To contact the <em>aiCIO</em> editor of this story: Paula Vasan at <a href='mailto:pvasan@assetinternational.com'>pvasan@assetinternational.com</a>; 646-308-2742

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