Obama's Capital Gains Tax

[Jon Miller]

But it is the very wealthy who are the ones who make most of the capital gains.

It makes perfectly good sense to tax those who were lucky/born with enough (and yeah, in some cases worked hard enough for) money to pay for their future to make up for those who weren't lucky/were poor and couldn't do so.

As well as taking money from those who haven't considered the future of the country and have just taken from it, and give to the real future of the country (through education/etc).

JM

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Patroklos


Why should that small business owner have to pay taxes after pouring his hart and soul into a successful tax paying buisness for years?

I think people also need to remember that CG are in many cases a significant portion of a persons retirement. It makes perfectly good sense to take money away from those responsible enough to plan for their future to make up for those who didng.

Business assets normally get a taper relief or an equivalent (?). I don't consider small business subjection to CGT to be all that big a deal. *shrug*

Inheritance tax on the other hand....

[Jon Miller]

Dauphin, some of the <25k$ makers are retirees.

JM

[Jon Miller]

I think that capital gains should be taxed as normal income, and not have a seperate tax rate.

So the retiree who makes 30k off of capital gains will be taxed like someone who made 30k a year from working in a factory. Someone who made 200k off of capital gains plus worked in a lawyer firm for another 200k would be taxed as if they made 400k working in the lawyer firm...

It is income, it should be taxed. We don't have a straight 20000$ tax that everyone pays because the doctor/lawyer worked hard for their income and shouldn't have to pay more than the waitress at denny's.

JM

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


Capital gains taxes become due when the asset making them is sold. If your small-business owner is selling the business, why does he need a tax break in order to run it?

All I'm saying is that I shouldn't be taxed for my work at a higher rate than more wealthy people are for not working. Income is income is income. Let all sources be taxed the same.

The theory (right or wrong) is that CGT increases incent investors to not invest in general, effectively reducing the total pool of investment money. Thus, individual businesses (etc.) will see less money (or have to pay more for it). Plenty of investors cash out after a relatively short period of time, particularly funds, so it would affect them. (IE, buying stock, public or private, in a company, then reselling it for a profit.)

Whether that is entirely true or not, I couldn't say ... but that's the theory, and it has at least some validity (statistically speaking). While what you say about taxing people equally makes sense from a fairness point of view, economically speaking, it is not necessarily valid, and not necessarily the best thing to do on the government's behalf.

[Dauphin]

Dauphin, some of the <25k$ makers are retirees.

I'd be amazed if that could explain such a big implied difference.

[Jon Miller]

I think that a low capital gains tax incourages investment in risky schemes. As it is more worth your while to invest than to spend it.

JM

[rah]

Originally posted by Patroklos
I think people also need to remember that CG are in many cases a significant portion of a persons retirement. It makes perfectly good sense to take money away from those responsible enough to plan for their future to make up for those who didng.

It's typical democrat thinking. Take from the smart and give to the dumb. It's how they get the dumb people to vote for them.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
Dauphin, some of the <25k$ makers are retirees.

JM

Yeah, not that many though, I'd expect (that implies that a LARGE number of the <25k$ income group have CG income). I agree that the numbers seem funny... but regardless, the article ignores the primary argument it opposes in any event.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
I think that a low capital gains tax incourages investment in risky schemes. As it is more worth your while to invest than to spend it.

JM

It can make risky investment more appealing (more upside, same downside), but in this sort of market, that is not really true. It might make a riskier investment more palatable, though ... but that could be a good thing.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by rah


It's typical democrat thinking. Take from the smart and give to the dumb. It's how they get the dumb people to vote for them.

Well, the republicans already have the evil demographic.

JM

[Impaler[WrG]]

Thats why I'm in favor of folding investment incomes into our current progressive income tax system. The large the wealth created from investment the higher the tax. The upper class recive Stock in place of sallary all the time so why do we treat it differently in our tax codes? I don't know exactly how this would be done fairly but at a minimum their must be a means to distinguish investments that have been purchased with ones own cash from ones received as compensation in a pseudo-salary form, the later should get folded into ones income taxes.

[rah]

Hmm, I've yet to see a poor democrat congressmen. Yet everyone believes that they're looking out for the poor. Hmmmm. At least the Repugs are honest about it. We're rich and we take care of our own. Well at least mostly. hahahahha

[Aeson]

Giving the Fed control of the CGT is a bad idea. There's already enough market manipulation going on, and the Fed isn't always right (except perhaps in respect to their buddies).

The market would benefit most from CGT not being changed back and forth, so that there is a reliable and even playing field.

[Aeson]

Originally posted by Patroklos
I think people also need to remember that CG are in many cases a significant portion of a persons retirement. It makes perfectly good sense to take money away from those responsible enough to plan for their future to make up for those who didng.

IRAs don't pay CG tax. They pay income tax as you take the money out.

Roth IRAs don't pay CG tax. They pay income tax on the money as it's invested.