Senate Passes the Dodd Bill:

On Thursday Evening, May 20, 2010, the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.  The vote of 59 to 39 came with four Republicans voting in favor of the bill, and two Democrats voting against it.

The Senate and House will now go to conference in order to reconcile their two versions of financial regulatory reform.  While there is no firm deadline, the reconciliation should occur within days or weeks, and not months.

Please read the final version of the Senate bill. 

Taxation of Carried Interest Legislation

On Thursday, May 20, 2010, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) introduced the latest version of legislation taxing a "carried interest" as ordinary income.  The original legislation, the Tax Extenders Act of 2009, passed the House.  Similar legislation, in the form of an amendment to the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act, passed the Senate.  The new legislation is a combination of the two passed packages.  The legislation would tax investment management services income received as carried interest in an investment fund at ordinary income rates rather than capital gains rates.  In addition to taxing carried interest as ordinary income in a variety of ways, the new legislation closes tax loopholes for foreign operations of multinational companies, provides tax relief and tax cuts to business, local governments, and individuals, helps restore the flow of credit to small businesses, expands career training programs, and expands eligibility for unemployment benefits and health care tax credits.

Read the press release with links to the text and summary of The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010.

European Bank Resolution Funds

On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, the European Commission proposed that the European Union create a network of European bank resolution funds to "ensure that future bank failures are not at the cost of the taxpayer or destabilise the financial system."  The European Commission plans to present the proposal at the G-20 Summit in Toronto in June 2010. 

Read the European Commission Press Release.

Read the European Commission's Frequently Asked Questions.