logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2022
26m 29s

The Tax Loophole That Won’t Die

The New York Times
About this episode

Carried interest is a loophole in the United States tax code that has stood out for its egregious unfairness and stunning longevity. 

Typically, the richest of the rich pay 40 percent tax on their income. The very narrow, select group that benefits from carried interest pays only 20 percent. 

Earlier versions of the Inflation Reduction Act targeted carried interest. But the loophole has survived. Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, demanded her party get rid of efforts to eliminate it in exchange for her support. 

How has the carried interest loophole lasted so long despite its obvious unfairness? 

Guest: Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist for The New York Times and the founder and editor-at-large of DealBook.

Background reading: 

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Up next
Yesterday
A Consequential Supreme Court Term Begins With a Conversion Therapy Case
Warning: this episode contains mentions of suicide.In one of the first cases of the Supreme Court’s new term, the justices considered whether to strike down a ban on conversion therapy, the contentious practice that aims to change a young person’s sexual orientation.Ann E. Marimo ... Show More
30m 29s
Oct 8
Trump Claims ‘Rebellion’ in American Cities
Over the past week, ICE and border patrol agents have clashed with Chicago residents, and federal guard troops arriving in the city might inflame tensions further.Julie Bosman, Chicago bureau chief for The Times, and Mattathias Schwartz describe the situation on the ground and ex ... Show More
34m 31s
Oct 7
Marriage and Sex in the Age of Ozempic
In the last few years, GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound have been radically reshaping the people’s lives, changing appetites and health.But the drugs also have the power to affect other parts of consumers’ lives, including their romantic relationships.Lisa Miller ... Show More
37m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2022
Carried interest wormhole
The carried interest tax loophole is a way that wealthy Americans – often the people who manage hedge funds or private equity firms – avoid paying billions of dollars worth of taxes. It has been one of the most controversial yet durable features of the U.S. tax code. But where di ... Show More
26m 23s
Feb 2024
Tax cuts: will they or won’t they?
Will taxes rise or fall in next month’s Spring Budget? Host Claer Barrett visits the recently appointed financial secretary to the Treasury, Nigel Huddleston. He addresses the topic of tax cuts as well as listener concerns about static personal allowance thresholds, reduced entit ... Show More
25m 32s
Apr 2022
Taxes! Let’s get right Intuit.
Weeds co-hosts Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Vox policy editor Libby Nelson (@libbyanelson) to talk about some hot! tax! policy! But mostly, why it’s so annoying to file our taxes every year. The three discuss why the tax code is so complicated to begin with; compare ... Show More
52m 22s
May 2022
The scourge of the “time tax”
Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about why it’s so hard for people to get government benefits. Frequently called the “time tax,” the administrative burden of applying for and distributing government be ... Show More
53m 46s
Sep 2020
NY Times: Trump paid no income taxes in 10 out of 15 years beginning in 2000
Tax return data obtained by The New York Times shows Donald Trump reported he was losing significantly more money than he made and has paid no income taxes in 10 of the past 15 years beginning in 2000. President Trump claimed the report is “fake news” and said he pays “a lot” in ... Show More
41m 2s
Dec 2022
Returns show Trump paid no taxes in 2020
A US Congressional committee has released six years of tax returns belonging to Donald Trump. The former president battled for years to keep the documents secret. They show that in one year, Mr Trump paid just 750 dollars in federal income taxes, in another he paid nothing. The d ... Show More
49m 47s
Apr 2023
Tax Code Switch
This past January, researchers uncovered that Black taxpayers are three to five times as likely to be audited as everyone else. One likely reason for this is that the IRS disproportionately audits lower-income earners who claim a tax benefit called the earned income tax credit. A ... Show More
24m 53s
Jan 2024
#139 People Power
On the Taxcast this month: People power for tax justice is on the rise like never before. We kick off 2024 with inspiring stories on campaigns for tax reform from around the world: strategies, successes, limitations, and what we can learn from the first in-depth studies of their ... Show More
39m 3s
Apr 2024
The rise of the (tax) resistance
It’s Tax Day! Millions of Americans have already filed their 2023 returns, but today we’re talking about tax protesters and the moral and ethical reasons some refuse to file their taxes or pay what they owe. Plus, the “no landing” scenario has entered the chat. And, what are we g ... Show More
13m 28s