The Curious Beginnings of the Capital Gains Tax Preference

The Curious Beginnings of the Capital Gains Tax Preference
Author: Ajay K. Mehrotra
Publisher:
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

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Despite the importance of the capital gains tax preference, and the controversy it often evokes, there has been relatively little serious scholarly attention paid to the historical development of this highly significant tax provision. This Article seeks to move beyond the normative and presentist concerns for or against the tax preference to recount the empirical beginnings and early twentieth-century development of this important tax law. In exploring the curious beginnings of the capital gains tax preference, this brief Article has several aims. First, its main goal is to show that the preference is not a timeless or transhistorical concept, but rather a historically contingent one--a concept that has been shaped not purely by economic logic, but rather by political compromise and social experience. Second, it uses the capital gains tax preference to shed light on broader historiographical questions about the rise and fall of different guiding principles of American political economy. Third, by examining the shifting political coalitions and constituencies behind the tax preference, it intends to show that it is not simply wealthy and elite American taxpayers and their representatives who have supported this tax law. Rather, over time, the law has had a variety of proponents, suggesting that the provision's persistence can be explained as much by political forces and institutional inertia as by seemingly inexorable economic reasoning. Ultimately, an exploration of the beginnings and early twentieth-century development of the capital gains tax preference provides an opportunity to think about how “we are what we tax” -- the theme of this law review symposium.

The Capital Gains Controversy

The Capital Gains Controversy
Author: J. Andrew Hoerner
Publisher:
Total Pages: 518
Release: 1992
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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A collection of documentation regarding the treatment of capital gains in the United States. Articles by economists, lawyers, Treasury Department officials, and congressional testimony. Chapters include general assessment of capital gains taxation, capital gains revenue estimates, capital gains and economic growth, fairness and distributional equity, inflation and indexing, designing a capital gains tax preference.

The Labyrinth of Capital Gains Tax Policy

The Labyrinth of Capital Gains Tax Policy
Author: Leonard E. Burman
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2010-12-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0815714955

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Few issues in tax policy are as divisive as the capital gains tax. Should capital gains--the increase in value of assets such as stocks or businesses--be taxed at all? If so, when should they be taxed--when they are earned, or when they are realized? Should taxes be adjusted for inflation? And should gains be taxed at both the individual and corporate levels? In this book, Leonard Burman cuts through the political rhetoric to present the facts about capital gains. He begins by explaining the complex rules that govern the taxation of capital gains, examines the kinds of assets that produce them, and the factors that can lead to gains or losses. He then reviews the effects of capital gains taxation on saving and investment and considers the arguments for and against indexing capital gains taxes for inflation, as well as other options for altering the current system.

Taxation of Capital Gains

Taxation of Capital Gains
Author: Krister Andersson
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 29
Release: 1991-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1451948042

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This paper reviews the main issues that needs to be addressed in the taxation of capital gains. The main focus of the paper is on the tax treatment of capital gains in the United States. The impact of inflation on asset values and the taxation of gains have led to calls for an inflation-adjusted taxation of capital gains. Others have called for the exclusion of a part of the nominal gains from taxation. This paper argues that if the exclusion method is used, the exclusion rate should increase as the holding period gets longer.

Saving the Farm Or Giving Away the Farm

Saving the Farm Or Giving Away the Farm
Author: Phyllis Taite
Publisher:
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2017
Genre:
ISBN:

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Over the years the topic of capital gain preferences has been thoroughly debated. Discussions range between whether the tax rates on capital gains should be raised, reduced, or repealed. Other discussions have centered on whether capital gains has an effect on the economy, and if so, how the research supports those assertions. It would be difficult to cover all aspects of the issues associated with capital gains taxes in one article; therefore this discussion will focus on capital gains as applied to individual income taxes.The capital gains tax has been criticized for the questionable effect it has on the economy but one of the reasons the capital gains tax has not generated more revenue is because of tax policy. Congress has created, and continues to create, policies that encourage holding capital property for long periods of time. As such, when taxpayers hold capital property longer, revenue is delayed or denied to the federal government. This is just one of the ways the capital gains tax has been a mechanism to shift wealth to the wealthiest taxpayers. Another example of the gross inequities is revealed in the income tax implications of the capital gains tax when property passes through an estate. When capital gains property is transferred through an estate, the inherent gain is completely eradicated. This paper offers proposals to reform tax policy and address some of the inequities to move towards a more balance approached in tax policy. The proposals in this article are specifically designed to reallocate capital gains preferences to shift certain benefits towards the middle and lower class, phase out certain preferences and eliminate preferences that only benefit the wealthiest taxpayers.

Tax Treatment of Capital Gains

Tax Treatment of Capital Gains
Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Finance
Publisher:
Total Pages: 140
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Capital Gains Tax Reform

Capital Gains Tax Reform
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Small Business
Publisher:
Total Pages: 150
Release: 1995
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

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