Business Report- Raising taxes on hedge funds and buyout firms might have “unintended consequences”, warned US treasury secretary Henry Paulson, who said congress should not “single out” firms thatgo public, such as Blackstone Group.
Senate legislation would force Blackstone to pay taxes at corporate rates of 35 percent instead of as a partnership, with a burden as low as 15 percent.
Paulson was the second senior Bush administration official yesterday to raise concerns about efforts to increase taxes on many hedge funds and buyout firms.
White House spokesperson Tony Snow also suggested the administration would oppose such an effort.
“This is not an administration that’s predisposed towards tax increases,” said Snow. He said at a later briefing that he was speaking generally and was not addressing specific legislation.
Shares of Blackstone, which traded as low as $29.13 (R206.84 ) about 15 minutes before Snow’s first remarks, jumped 3.5 percent afterward.
