On Tue, 21 Aug 2007, the Washington Post was quoted as saying:
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/20/AR2007082001761.html>
> Wall Street Paying High Price to Keep Cash
> By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
<snip>
> A single lobbying firm -- Ogilvy Government Relations -- received
> $3.74 million in the first six months of this year from Blackstone
> Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms.
As the article says, that's a huge amount compared to what anyone else is spending to buy legislation -- but it's a tiny amount compared to what's at stake for the guys spending the money. According to Doug's Nation article on the Blackstone IPO (http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070716/henwood ), the two main principals of Blackstone, Schwartzman and Peterson, made $677 million and $1.9 billion from the offering alone. So just for those two guys, the difference betweewn 15% tax rate and a 35% tax rate would be $135 million + $380 million = over half a billion dollars in taxes they'll have pay if this law passes and won't if it doesn't. They're kicking in less than 1% to try and hold it. I bet they'd probably they'd kick in more if the law firms could come up with any more plausible ways to spend it.
And that's just two guys. The list of the 25 biggest earnings were all in the same brackets and thus in basically the same situation.
But back to Peterson and Schwartzman, I have a curiosity question: if the firm is spending the money, does that mean they get to write this off on their taxes? :o)
Michael