The head of the Private Equity Council, a private-equity lobbying group whose founding members include the Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, says the industry has made progress in its battle against proposed tax increases being considered in Congress, Bloomberg reports.
“Things look better now than they did two or three months ago,” says Doug Lowenstein, the group’s president. “We’ve stabilised the situation.”
Mr. Lowenstein cited four Senate Democrats who have expressed skepticism about the proposals, which would increase the taxes paid by private equity firms or their managers.
But he acknowledged that their efforts were hampered by the perception that they are seeking tax breaks for the rich a notion that the Service Employees International Union tried to play up in a small but theatrical protest earlier this week in the wealthy Long Island, N.Y., enclave of Southampton.