Nearly all of the press coverage about the proposal to change the tax treatment of real estate partnership carried interests has focused on Wall Street, particularly private equity and hedge funds. Thus, NAR staff were pleased when senior aides to bill sponsor Sander Levin (D-MI) requested a meeting with NAR tax staff to explore the NAR and real estate industry position on the legislation. A 90-minute discussion provided Mr. Levin's staff with a much clearer understanding of the extent to which Realtors perceive the differences between Wall Street, financial markets and real estate investment. 

Mr. Levin's bill (H.R. 2894) characterizes the carried interest as a form of compensation for services. Mr. Levin will continue to evaluate the provision to ascertain whether and how to differentiate between the compensation and incentive/return of "brainpower" capital features of carried interests. The debate will continue over the coming months. 

Linda Goold 202-383-1083, Helen Devlin 202-383-7559, Jeff Lischer 202-383-1117