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Monday September 3, 2012

New York probes private equity tax strategy


NEW YORK: At least a dozen US private equity firms have been subpoenaed by the New York state attorney-general as part of a probe into whether a widely used tax strategy that saved these firms hundreds of millions of dollars is proper, a source familiar with the situation said.

Among the firms that were subpoenaed are Bain Capital LLC, KKR & Co LP, TPG Capital LP, Apollo Global Management LLC and Silver Lake Partners LP, the source said on Saturday.

Bain was once headed by Mitt Romney (pic), the Republican candidate who hopes to unseat President Barack Obama in the Nov 6 election.

The subpoenas, which were sent out in July, seek documents related to the conversion of fees these private equity firms charge for managing investors' assets into fund investments, the source said. This means the investigation predates the release last month of confidential Bain fund documents by Gawker that revealed such a practice.

The practice is known as a “management fee waiver.” As fund investments, the income would be taxed as capital gains, which attract rates around 15%. Without the conversion, the fees would be ordinary income, taxed at rates around 35%.

Other firms that received subpoenas include Sun Capital Partners; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Crestview Partners; H.I.G. Capital; Vestar Capital Partners; and Providence Equity Partners.

Jennifer Givner, a spokeswoman for New York attorney-general Eric Schneiderman's office, declined to comment. The firms were not immediately available for comment.

The investigation comes in the midst of a heated US presidential election campaign. Romney has been scrutinised for his tenure as head of Bain, through which he amassed much of his estimated US$250mil fortune.

The timing of the probe and Schneiderman's credentials as a Democrat could raise eyebrows in political circles.

Romney's record at Bain is already a target of attack by President Barack Obama's campaign and has put an uncomfortable spotlight on the industry. A probe into a potential tax dodge by the industry could further play into the Democrats' hands.

Romney earned about US$13mil in income over the past two years from carried interest, or the portion of a private equity fund's profits that goes to its managers, according to his campaign, which has issued a statement denying that he ever profited from using a management fee waiver. - Reuters

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