Street theater shows Carlyle Fat Cat Tycoons"welcoming wheelbarrows full of taxpayer money from the IRS

Today's event the first in a series of lunch hour entertainment events to be hosted in front of the Washington HQ of the Carlyle Group

WASHINGTON, DC - Just how much taxpayer money has the Carlyle Group taken from the U.S. Treasury? The answer is a mystery, but there is no question that buyout giant the Carlyle Group employs sophisticated financial strategies to turn taxpayer dollars into executive profits and avoid paying its fair share of taxes.

To dramatize the Carlyle Group drain on the US Treasury, one of the nation's largest unions, SEIU (Service Employees International Union) sponsored street theater today in downtown Washington, D.C. Wheelbarrows full of taxpayer money were carted by taxpayers from the IRS building across the street from the Carlyle Group's offices into the eagerly awaiting grasp of a Carlyle "Fat Cat Tycoon."

"No one is better than Carlyle at turning taxpayer dollars into CEO profits,"said Stephen Lerner, Director of SEIU's Private Equity Project. "The last place that working people's hard-earned tax money should be going is to subsidize billionaire buyout executives like David Rubenstein."

The Carlyle Group's $75 billion portfolio is full of defense, energy, health care, and other companies that receive potentially billions in government contracts, subsidies, or other payments.  The large tax deductions that result from the highly leveraged buyouts of these companies and other potential tax strategies have the effect of limiting, if not eliminating, the corporate taxes paid by these companies while they are owned by Carlyle. SEIU is investigating the federal contracts held by Carlyle Group portfolio companies and the impact of those Carlyle buyouts on federal tax revenues.

Based on back-of-the-envelope calculations by SEIU, the potential lost tax revenue from Carlyle-owned companies alone could total $697 million a year.

Though recent news reports say Congress may not act this year on at least one buyout industry-related tax issue, the Carlyle Group's multiple tax avoidance strategies remain highly relevant for policy makers at a time when as many as 23 million Americans could face a tax increase due to the Alternative Minimum Tax.

About the Carlyle Group
With more than $75 billion in assets under management, the Carlyle Group is one of the five largest corporate buyout firms in the nation.  Washington, DC-based Carlyle owns companies that together employ more than 280,000 workers. The firm's three co-founders, David Rubenstein, William Conway, and Daniel D'Aniello each have a net worth estimated by Forbes at more than $2.5 billion. A recent study estimated Rubenstein's 2006 compensation at $260 million. For more info visit www.behindthebuyouts.org/carlyle.

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