As you can see from the numbers reported in The New York Times' DealBook, private equity firms are spending big on lobbying. Their goal? To avoid having to pay any more in taxes than they already are paying now. And it's easy to understand why they're so worried. There's no particularly good reason that large buyout shops should get better tax treatment than competitors like Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), so hand shakin' and deal makin' is their only hope.
Of course, the amount that they're spending is a pittance compared to the benefits they'll reap if it pays off. The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) tipped the scales by paying Ogilvy Government Relations $3.74 million for its efforts -- the firm spent a total of $120,000 all of last year.
The outcome of all this lobbying will be a true test of corruption in Washington. If the private equity firms are able to avoid being taxed at something resembling normal rates, we'll know that connections and money have won out over reason and fairness.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-16-2007 @ 3:30PM
Mike Rath said...
Amazing ZB!!!!! Disagreeing with your definition of "reason & fairness" = corruption....What a hoople...