Tax plan sends shockwaves down K Street

By Vicki Needham

Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) divided Washington’s powerful industry groups into warring camps on Wednesday with his no-holds-barred proposal for tax reform.

The release of the plan, which was years in the making, revealed one of the most closely held secrets in Washington: the tax breaks that the Ways and Means chairman thinks should be sacrificed in the name of a simpler, fairer system.

Industry groups on the losing end of Camp’s proposal were swift to denounce it, with one of the most vocal protests coming from the hedge fund industry, which saw its treasured carried-interest provision singled out for elimination.

“Chairman Camp's proposal penalizes long-term capital investment, which he and other members of the House Ways and Means Committee have purported to support,” said Steve Judge, president and CEO of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council. 

He said Camp’s plan essentially creates a 40 percent tax increase that would discourage investment in the United States.

“It is our hope that as the debate over tax reform unfolds, policymakers will utilize the opportunity to reform the tax code as a way to encourage, not undermine, capital investment in America."

Under Camp’s plan, the top income tax rate for individuals would drop to 25 percent from 39.6 percent while adding a new 10 percent surtax on some earned income above about $450,000. The top corporate income tax rate would fall from .......

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/199374-tax-plan-sends-shockwaves-down-k-st#ixzz2uZFVQcKN