Brown 'ready to stamp out private equity tax breaks'

The Treasury is ready to clamp down on the tax reliefs used by private equity bosses to cut their tax bills, according to a report in the Sunday Times this weekend.

The report claimed that chancellor Gordon Brown would 'clamp down' on the taper relief that allows private equitys bosses to only pay 10% tax on remuneration through carried interest they receive when selling on businesses.

The industry has come under intense criticism from unions over the use of the tax reliefs, which has prompted Treasury action in this area.

The Treasury is conducting a review of carried interest and interest relief on debt, two of the main areas in which private equity benefits - from a tax point of view.

However, speaking to Accountancy Age, a Treasury spokesman said that although the reviews were underway, no formal decisions had been made about whether these areas of tax should be reformed or not.

'Work on the review is ongoing, and will conclude in due course,' the spokesman said.

Further reading:

Brown vows to review private equity tax

Read the GMB Union view on private equity