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Kyrsten Sinema Received Nearly $1 Million From Hedge Funds In the Past Year

by
Rebekah Barton
on
8/14/2022
Kyrsten Sinema Received Nearly $1 Million From Hedge Funds In the Past Year

Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) received nearly $1 million from hedge funds and private equity professionals to date in 2022, explaining her stance on the carried interest loophole.

Sinema was a notable holdout on her party's sweeping tax and climate bill -- the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 -- that passed the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives last week. 

Earlier this month, it was reported that Sinema would only consider backing the bill if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) "would remove a provision closing the so-called carried interest loophole."

The two Senators eventually reached a deal, which did result in the removal of that particular provision.

For those unfamiliar with the loophole, CBS News explained that it works "by taxing carried interest — a payment that fund mangers receive as their cut of the profits from investing people's money — as a long-term capital gain, which imposes a 20% tax rate on the highest earners. That's a huge benefit because earned income for America's top earners is taxed at a 37% rate."

Now, North Carolina's Winston-Salem Journal reports that Sinema has hugely benefitted from the hedge fund managers and private equity professionals who enjoy lower taxes as a result of the loophole:

Sinema has long aligned herself with the interests of private equity, hedge funds and venture capital, helping her net at least $1.5 million in campaign contributions since she was elected to the House a decade ago. But the $983,000 she has collected since last summer more than doubled what the industry donated to her during all of her preceding years in Congress combined, according to an Associated Press review of campaign finances disclosures.

These donations make Sinema one of the industry's top beneficiaries in Congress prove that lobbying can have a massive impact on the way legislation is crafted, as evidenced by the key change to the Inflation Reduction Act. 

As the Journal pointed out, the investment might seem steep, but it's had an incredible return for the private equity community:

"From their vantage point, it's a million dollars very well spent," said Dean Baker, a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a liberal-leaning think tank. "It's pretty rare you see this direct of a return on your investment. So I guess I would congratulate them."

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is expected to be on President Biden's desk this week to be signed into law. 

What do you think about Senator Sinema's million dollars in kickback from private equity firms and head fund managers?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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