Diane Lim Rogers of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition on fiscal responsibility suggests one alternative: “taxing capital gains and dividends at the same rate as labor income, or limiting itemized deductions so that the rich do not receive higher subsidies than middle-income households. We could start by letting all of the Bush tax cuts expire, as already scheduled under current law.”
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) agrees. He introduced the Carried Interest Fairness Act this winter, a bill to close the loophole that lets people who manage other people’s money pay just 15 percent tax on their income, compared with the up-to-35- percent many Americans pay on their income.