The Tax Reform Obama And Trump Both Support

The tax reform that Obama and Trump agree on. We’ll look at closing the hedge funds’ favorite loophole on carried interest. Plus: we'll look at charges of VW emissions test cheating.

For years, critics of hyper-inequality in America have complained that many of the richest of the rich get special tax treatment on their millions that leave them taxed at a lower rate than their secretaries. The “carried interest” break beloved by private equity and hedge fund guys. Now, billionaire Donald Trump is saying the same thing, Trump-style. They’re “getting away with murder,” he says, while the middle class is getting “destroyed.” Obama agrees. So does Jeb Bush. Wow. This hour On Point:  Campaign tax plans for the super-rich. And – we’ll look at charges of a giant Volkswagen cheat on emissions. How they did it.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Fawn Johnson, chief policy editor for the Morning Consult. (@fawnjohnson)

Ryan Ellis, tax policy director at Americans for Tax Reform. (@RyanLEllis)

Victor Fleischer, professor of law at the University of San Diego. (@vicfleischer)

Morning Consult: Tax Reform Efforts Show Momentum, If Nothing Else — "House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is going to try. That’s the word on the street from tax analysts, lawmakers and congressional aides. At some point between now and Thanksgiving, we’ll know whether the Wisconsin Republican has succeeded in cobbling together enough support to rework the international tax code and keep highways and transit funded for four to five years."

New York Times: Carried-Interest Tax Break Divides Again, After Trump Revives the Issue — "At first, the capitalists’ lobby dismissed the billionaire Donald J. Trump’s call to end the so-called carried-interest tax break for “hedge fund guys” as an eccentric idea from one of their own. Then Jeb Bush, Mr. Trump’s rival for the Republican nomination, embraced it. Some of Wall Street’s heaviest hitters approved. And predictably, Democrats led by President Obama and the party’s presidential candidates piled on, because the tax-the-rich idea had been theirs to begin with."

POLITICO: Jeb Bush tax plan hits Wall Street — "Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush will propose raising taxes on some private equity and hedge fund managers — normally a favorite target of liberals — while calling for significantly lower individual and corporate tax rates as part of a tax code rewrite. Bush's move on the tax preference, known as 'carried interest' is surprising, though front-runner Donald Trump has harshly criticized the same provision in the tax code. Meanwhile, the tax cuts Bush will propose are sure to appeal to traditional supply-side conservatives."

Kevin Tynan,  senior autos analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. (@kevtynan10)

Bloomberg Business: VW ‘Clean Diesel’ Scheme Exposed as Criminal Charges Weighed -- "Volkswagen AG’s admission that it cheated to make nearly half a million diesel cars appear cleaner-burning than they are leaves the automaker facing billions in fines, its executives risking criminal charges and its U.S. expansion plans in peril. VW admitted systematically cheating on U.S. air pollution tests for years, theEnvironmental Protection Agency announced Friday in citing violations that could add up to $18 billion in fines. The company said it has also heard from the Justice Department, which the EPA said could pursue criminal prosecution."