Ray Arachelian wrote:
This is really a double tax since if you own assets, you've already paid taxes on those said assets in the form of income tax. If it's an inheritance, that too was taxed, so what the fuck? What's the justification behind this other than exit rape?
The problem is that capital gains can be used to pay people money and avoid income taxation. Example: suppose that I hire you to design my website. Instead of paying you $10,000, I sell you a security for $1,000 and repurchase it from you next year for $12,000. As a result, you would not have to pay the feds anything if there was no capital gains tax. There are many ways in which this can be done by individuals and companies alike. I would rather use sales tax and repeal both capital gains tax and income tax, than get rid of capital gains tax but not of the income tax. igor