The need for tax revenue is acute right now. And hedge funds (hedge fund news) are an obvious target. So we've seen some attempts at imposing taxes and fees, though none of them appear likely to become law.

A late addition to the historic financial reform bill working through Congress would have taken $19 billion from large financial firms, including hedge fund firms that manage more than $10 billion. What constitutes a hedge fund? That definition would be left to a newly created Financial Stability Oversight Council, in consultation with the SEC, notes Dow Jones. At the same time, assemblymen in New York State have floated a plan that would tax the carried interest from hedge funds, billing it as a way to raise revenue from people who live outside the state but work for funds in the state. The industry, however, argues that such a move will simply prompt an exodus of funds out of New York.

Congress has also attempted to tax the carried interest but those plans have yet to materialize concretely. The hedge fund lobby has been successful at keeping these proposals at the formative stages. All in all, the industry is faring well in this season of reform.

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