Like Greece, the US is currently facing the issue of “who will pay” for our sovereign debt crisis. So far, I haven’t come across the suggestion to put the capital gains tax on the table. Here are three reasons I feel capital gains taxes should be increased right now to be at parity with ordinary income taxes.
(1) Capital gains were saved by the bailout
The stock market is not the only wealth-building game in town, but through IRS tax breaks, it has become the biggest one! In addition to individual investors, the stock market also serves institutional investors such as mutual funds, banks, insurance companies, hedge funds, and pension funds. These are the institutions that benefited most from the taxpayer funds spent on the bailouts and the stimulus during the recent financial crisis. Those who are better off financially in this country have the most to be thankful for. Their comfort would have diminished greatly if these big institutions hadn’t been saved! Continue reading →