The Carried Interest Standoff: Reaffirming Executive Agency Authority

This Article argues that, if reform is necessary, carried interest taxation should be amended by agency rulemaking and not by Congress. Much has already been said about carried interest, but this Article attempts to look through a new lens—legislative history. Carried interest presents a complicated question about the application of foundational partnership tax principles. It is an issue that has received popular attention only within the last decade.

Since then, the face of reform has been efforts in Congress to pass an overly complex bill—Section 710. By looking back through the legislative history of carried interest, we begin to see that the best option for reform would be agency rulemaking. Based on legislative history, doctrine, structure, and practicality, this paper will affirm the power of executive agencies in the context of carried interest.