The Connecticut Working Families Party staged protests across Greenwich in front of the homes and offices of the town”™s wealthiest business leaders to protest what organizers decried as a tax loophole that favored certain financial services executives.
The demonstration was dubbed “The Lifestyles of the Rich and the Shameless Bus Tour Protest” and involved the delivery of oversized invoices to the homes of several Greenwich business leaders who were recently cited by Forbes as being among the world’s billionaires, including First Reserve Corp. CEO William Macaulay. The protestors also rallied in front of the Greenwich headquarters of hedge fund AQR Capital Management. The targets of the demonstration were selected for allegedly taking advantage of Connecticut”™s “carried interest” tax break that enables hedge fund managers and private equity managers to pay lower state taxes than most residents.
“Despite evidence-based research claiming that closing the tax loophole can raise $520 million a year, Governor Malloy has made it clear that he intends to protect this special benefit for millionaires and billionaires,” the Working Families Party said in a statement. “Instead, he”™s asked working folks to foot the bill and make more sacrifices to help fix the state”™s budget. That”™s outrageously unfair and it”™s why we”™re taking a bus tour of these tony estates to call on legislators to close this unfair tax loophole.”
