President Obama praised Republican presidential candidates former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Donald Trump for their calls to end the carried interest loophole in a speech to the Business Roundtable on Wednesday.
Obama said, “People in both parties, including some of the leading Republican candidates for president, have been putting out proposals, some I agree with, some I don’t. I’ll give you one example, though. You’ve got two leading candidates on the Republican side who have said that we should eliminate the carried interest loophole. Now, there’s disagreement in this room around that. But, I will tell you that keeping this tax loophole, which leads to folks who are doing very well, paying lower rates than their secretaries, is not, in any demonstrable way, improving our economy. On the other hand, if we close the tax loophole, we could double the number of workers in America’s job training programs. We could help another 4 million students afford college. These are sensible choices that, if you were running your business, and you took a look at it, you’d make that decision. Well, America should too. And, this is an example of how we can maintain fiscal responsibility, while at the same time, making the investments that we need to grow.”
(h/t Real Clear Politics)
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