Tax bill passed

Jo Breiner — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:00:01 +0000

Boston University School of Law professor Daniel Berman, director of the Graduate Tax Program, offers his view on the future of tax reform after passage of the tax compromise bill.

“This tax package is a temporary compromise that deserves its widespread condemnation. The only optimistic sign for tax policy is some new support for tax reform, voiced by the president and others.

“Tax reform has proven to be enormously difficult to accomplish, and almost as difficult to preserve once achieved. But it may offer the best way out of our present economic and political mess.”

Contact Daniel Berman, 617-353-3105, bermand@bu.edu

Tax hikes for investment partnerships

Dick Taffe — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:40:12 +0000

A long fight over how the federal government taxes investment partnerships is ending as Senate Democrats now plan to more than double taxes on private-equity, hedge-fund and certain real-estate managers. It would no longer let people running such partnerships pay the lower capital-gains taxes on what were basically wages. The tax hike on “carried interest” expected to raise $14.5 billion over 10 years. Law Professor Daniel Berman, director of the Graduate Tax Program and both a Treasury and Congressional tax counsel, says that any such compensation from investment performance is still fundamentally pay for services rendered.

“It is common to reinvest after-tax compensation for capital gains. But when the amounts subject to investment risk were awarded in exchange for services but have not yet been recognized as taxable income, those amounts should be taxed as compensation when paid.”

Contact Daniel Berman, 617-353-3105, bermand@bu.edu

BU Now » taxes

Tax bill passed

Tax hikes for investment partnerships