How the Carried Interest Break Survived the Tax Bill
- Treasury chief sought to keep break for private equity funds
- Congress imposed three-year holding requirement in legislation
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President Donald Trump’s plan to abolish a tax break for hedge-fund managers was kept out of the final tax overhaul legislation -- an act of defiance by congressional leaders who exploited a split among Trump’s advisers.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn wanted to end the carried interest break, while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin successfully urged keeping it with new limits, according to four people familiar with the matter. Ultimately, the administration’s split gave Republican lawmakers an opening to ignore the president’s wishes, said the people, who asked not to be named to talk about private discussions.