PEGCC Files Two Regulatory Comment Letters
The PEGCC regularly provides the private equity industry viewpoint on issues to regulators and policymakers in the United States and around the world. As our industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny, the PEGCC’s engagement remains extremely important. This month, we filed two letters.
The first PEGCC comment letter was submitted to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This letter responded to ESMA’s “call for evidence” on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) passport and whether that passport should be extended to third country AIFM. The key point in our letter is that the AIFMD passport regime should be extended to U.S. AIFMs and the funds (both U.S. and non-U.S.) they manage. Moreover, the letter reviews the fact that there are no significant obstacles regarding investor protection, market disruption, competition and the monitoring of systemic risk that would impede the application of the passport regime to U.S. AIFMs and their funds. To review the full letter click here.
The second PEGCC comment letter submitted this month was to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regarding its public discussion draft follow-up work on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan 6 – Preventing Tax Treaty Abuse. The letter makes the basic point that PE funds should continue to be able to use appropriate tax treaties without the imposition of additional reporting requirements. The letter also includes a discussion on the principal purpose of transactions (PPT) rule included in the OECD proposal, making the point that the language should be more narrowly and objectively tailored. To review the full letter click here.
Our submission of two letters in the first full week of 2015 is indicative of the busy year the Council anticipates on the regulatory front. Last year, the Council filed eleven comment letters on a variety of topics with various regulators. We expect our regulatory engagement this year to be similarly robust, and we look forward to working with our industry partners to ensure that our advocacy obtains the best regulatory results possible.
