2025 Carta Policy year in review

Author:

The Carta Policy Team

|

Read time:

4 minutes

Published date:

January 22, 2026

Carta Policy looks back on key 2025 wins—including tax reform, the INVEST Act, and SEC engagement—and previews a pivotal 2026 for private market regulation, capital access, and digital asset policy.

Policy is infrastructure: It can bind growth and innovation or unleash it. We built the Carta Policy team to serve as the connective tissue between the innovation ecosystem and policymakers. We aim to shape the policy infrastructure to bolster private capital and broaden its positive impacts to more—more entrepreneurs, more investors, and more communities. We also help educate and provide insights to the ecosystem to help them navigate the evolving policy landscape.

At the beginning of 2025, we faced a policy environment where key tax provisions were at risk, macro conditions created volatility and uncertainty across the board, and capital formation was at risk of becoming a backburner issue. Through engagement and advocacy, we secured big wins for the ecosystem on the tax and capital markets fronts. We also developed content and convened events for the ecosystem around the shifting policy landscape, covering topics from tariffs to artificial intelligence. We sought not only to shape the policy infrastructure but also help you navigate it.

We have much to be proud of over this past year, including:

• Tax reform wins for the innovation economy

• Capital formation legislation with bipartisan momentum

• SEC agenda focused on capital formation

• Building the connective tissue through ecosystem engagement

• Education and advocacy

Tax reform wins for the innovation economy

As major provisions of the 2017 tax cuts were set to expire at the end of 2025, policymakers not only had to figure out how to extend these provisions, but also how to offset the $4.5T price tag. As part of that discussion, key provisions that benefit the innovation economy came under fire. So we acted; we went on offense. We built a strategy and coalition— the Innovator Alliance—to not only defend our key priorities, but also expand them. The results:

• QSBS: Protected and expanded, enabling more businesses to qualify and more shareholders to benefit on a shorter time frame

• Carried interest: Preserved to bolster fund economics for private capital fund managers

• R&D: Restored full and immediate expensing, including on a retroactive basis for small businesses

Because of our efforts, we were able to secure these impactful wins for the innovation ecosystem, and engagement made the difference.

Capital formation legislation with bipartisan momentum

The House passed the INVEST Act, which will expand access to capital for founders and emerging managers and increase private market investment opportunities for more investors, including by:

• Expanding qualifying VC investments to include secondaries and investments in other VC funds

• Expanding the size and investor caps for qualifying venture capital funds

• Modernizing the accredited investor standard by adding on-ramps though education and exams

But unlike recent capital formation packages, this effort has strong bipartisan support, which means there is a real shot at advancing these policies and getting them signed into law. Carta has been working over the past year to educate, shape the contours, and engage the broader innovation community to build consensus. In advance of the floor consideration, Carta led a coalition of 27 organizations from across the country and across the ecosystem in support of this important legislation. To be clear, we do not get this result without this engagement, but we need to amplify it to push these important policies over the finish line in the Senate, which will be a major focus in 2026.

SEC agenda focused on capital formation

A change in administration meant a shift in SEC posture, and Carta started engaging the agency early on to ensure innovation ecosystem priorities remain top of mind. To that end, the SEC has included many of our priorities in their rulemaking agenda and has already taken action to reduce barriers to raise private capital and expand investor access to private markets. More to come as the agenda kicks into full swing this year.

Building the connective tissue through ecosystem engagement

To serve as the connective tissue, we need to engage the ecosystem. And we stepped up our game this year. Carta Policy hosted dinners and participated in events across the country, including SuperReturn, RAISE Global, and DC Fintech Week. In addition to the Innovator Alliance, we broadened our advocacy efforts to include regional organizations to help our message resonate with policymakers on a local level.

Education and advocacy

To make the case for policy changes like expanding VC fund parameters and QSBS, Carta Policy participated in over 100 policy meetings, hosted a series of Hill briefings for policymakers ( VC 101), and our very own Anthony Cimino testified before Congress on the importance of the SBIC program and expanding access to capital.

We are proud of the work, but we could not do this alone. It took the entire ecosystem—the Innovator Alliance, fund managers, and entrepreneurs we’ve learned from at events and through social engagement, feedback from our customers, our law firm partners, and many more stakeholders.

Thank you for an incredible year.

Looking ahead, 2026 will be a pivotal year for private market policy. Congress will look to finalize a digital asset regulatory framework and pass a capital formation package (INVEST Act); the SEC’s rulemaking agenda will be in full swing, including expanding retail access to private assets; and everyone will continue to grapple with how to regulate AI. Needless to say, it will be a busy year.