Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin has a long history of criticizing tax breaks for the wealthy, despite her running mate’s career reportedly spent helping ultra-high-net-worth clients pay less tax,
Labeled by Morgan Stanley as one of its “private wealth advisors,” Maria Brisbane, Baldwin’s partner since 2018, works Presenting “Tax Reduction Strategies” for its clients at the firm.
Brisbane’s work, and how it contradicts Baldwin’s teaching that wealthy Americans use tax breaks to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, was first highlighted in a report in the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
On Tax Day this year, Baldwin and two other Democrats in the upper house introduced the Carried Interest Fairness Act, aimed at “closing the carried interest tax loophole and making wealthy fund managers pay as much as other American workers,” according to a report. April Press Releases,
Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, speaks during the Wisdems 2024 State Convention on June 08, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Daniel Bocarsky/Getty Images for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin)
“Hardworking Wisconsin families shouldn’t pay more taxes than the wealthiest Americans. But right now, our tax code has loopholes that allow super-rich hedge fund managers to avoid paying their fair share,” Baldwin said at the time. “By closing the carried interest loophole, we will make our tax code more equitable for working families, cut the deficit, and ensure that those at the top of the food chain don’t exploit the system to make themselves even richer.”
Brisbane, who was named to Forbes’ “America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors” list in February, has worked with private wealth advisor Alex Zachary at Morgan Stanley since early 2024. Their practice, the Brisbane Group, previously operated under Merrill Lynch’s “private wealth management unit focused on ultra-wealthy clients,” according to a January report. Advisor Hub Report,
Morgan Stanley states on its website that, “The Brisbane Group is focused on helping ultra-high net worth individuals, families and non-profit organizations create customized investment strategies, focusing on tailored equity portfolios.”
Additionally, Morgan Stanley has praised the firm’s private wealth management division, which is “dedicated to serving the firm’s most affluent clients, including some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, executives, and custodians of multi-generational wealth.”
The New York-based multinational investment bank and financial services company promotes its wealth management division offering “investment opportunities in private equity, private credit, real estate, hedge funds, and other areas”.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
In February 2022, Baldwin was targeted He said that “activist hedge funds” “promote short-term profits at the expense of workers, taxpayers, and local communities.”
The Examiner’s report on Tuesday also included comments from the Wisconsin Republican Party, taking aim at Baldwin and Brisbane:
“Baldwin and Brisbane are enriching themselves by helping out-of-state clients avoid paying taxes,” said Matt Fischer, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Republican Party.
Regarding Baldwin’s past comments and Brisbane’s work at Morgan Stanley, Baldwin’s campaign insisted that the senator’s record “speaks for itself.”
Andrew Mamo, a spokesman for Baldwin’s Senate campaign, told Fox News Digital, “Tammy Baldwin has for years been a leader in the fight to make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share… Attacking Tammy Baldwin for her colleague’s work is baseless and wrong.”
Baldwin’s campaign also pointed to legislation the senator has introduced or supported in recent years to close some of the loopholes, including the Carried Interest Fairness Act, the Paying a Fair Share Act, and the Billionaires Income Tax Act.
Baldwin is set to face his main Republican rival, Eric Hovde, in the state’s Nov. 5 general election. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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The report comes as Baldwin, who has represented Wisconsin in the Senate since 2013, is seeking re-election for a third term. She is expected to face her main Republican rival Eric Hovde in the state’s general election on November 5.
Baldwin’s campaign accused Hovde of “refusing to disclose his finances” and claimed he “worked to evade taxes.” Additionally, the campaign highlighted Hovde’s attempts to self-finance his campaign and his investments in a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund.
