1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing as your constituent to urge you to co-sponsor and pass the Carried Interest Fairness Act of 2025 (H.R. 1091 / S. 445), introduced by Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Don Beyer in the House and Senator Tammy Baldwin in the Senate. A fair tax code requires that all income derived from labor is treated equally. Under current law, private equity and hedge fund managers exploit the carried interest loophole to recharacterize compensation and performance bonuses—payment for services rendered—as long-term capital gains. This creates an indefensible double standard: - Taxing Paychecks More Than Investment Bonuses: Fund managers pay a preferential 23.8% rate (20% capital gains plus the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax) on earnings, while firefighters, police officers, teachers, and small business owners face top ordinary income rates up to 37%. - Subsidizing Financial Elites: This loophole functions as a multi-billion-dollar tax shelter, leaving everyday taxpayers to cover revenue shortfalls while providing mega-investors excess capital to flood the political system. - Broken Promises: Donald Trump previously called this loophole "unfair to American workers" and claimed beneficiaries were "getting away with murder." Despite repeated assurances to close it—including statements to Republican leadership in February 2025—Congress has failed to act. - Established Conservative Precedent: Closing this loophole is bipartisan. House Republicans included eliminating carried interest in their 2014 Tax Reform Draft, and Senate Finance Committee leaders have recognized that reclassifying performance fees accurately defines labor versus investment income. - Overwhelming Public Consensus: Non-partisan polling shows 77% of voters across party lines support taxing fund managers' compensation at standard ordinary income rates. The Carried Interest Fairness Act resolves this inequity through two statutory fixes: 1. Treat compensation as ordinary income: Mandate that net income, distributions, and performance fees attributable to carried interest are taxed at standard ordinary income rates applicable to labor. 2. Apply Self-Employment Taxes: Require fund managers to pay standard Medicare and self-employment taxes under Section 1402(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, aligning their obligations with other self-employed professionals and small business owners. While Treasury's baseline estimate indicates this change would raise $6.5 billion over ten years, the Joint Committee on Taxation and Yale Budget Lab research estimate comprehensive carried interest reform would recover $63 billion to over $87 billion in lost federal revenue. Our tax code should reward honest work, not financial engineering. Co-sponsor H.R. 1091 / S. 445 and ensure the wealthiest fund managers pay the same tax rates as hardworking families in our community.