The real estate lobby has prominent allies in both parties. After the last major overhaul of the tax code, in 1986 - under a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, a Republican Senate and a Democratic House - it was a Democrat, Bill Clinton, who signed legislation that restored lost real estate tax breaks seven years later.

Earning high returns isn't just a matter of bragging rights - endowment income supports the missions of nonprofit institutions, whether education, as with college and universities, or broader social programs, as at many private foundations.

Advocates of a tax overhaul often point to the 1986 act as a model for a comprehensive approach that ushered in a long period of economic growth.

James B. Stewart Quotes