Every economic theory – even socialism and Marxism – agrees that saving and investment (a.k.a., capital formation) are a key to long-run growth and higher living standards. Yet the tax code penalizes with double taxation those who are willing to forego current consumption to finance future prosperity. This new Center for Freedom and Prosperity video explains why the capital gains tax should be abolished.
Unfortunately, Obama wants to go in the wrong direction. He wants to boost the official capital gains tax rate from 15 percent to 20 percent – and that is after imposing a back-door 3.8 percentage point increase in the tax rate as part of his government-run healthcare scheme.
Share this post with your friends and neighbors. If enough people understand why the capital gains tax is a job killer that reduces American competitiveness, perhaps the wrong thing won’t happen.
International Liberty 
[…] rather than abolishing the tax to boost American competitiveness, Biden has latched on to an idea to make a bad tax even […]
[…] a neutral tax system with no double taxation, there is no capital gains tax, no death tax, and no double taxation of dividends. In a neutral tax system, all savings is treated […]
[…] state of Washington suffered a huge fall, dropping 13 spots thanks to the imposition of a capital gains tax (the state constitution supposedly bars any taxes on income – and voters last fall […]
[…] In 2021, voters in the left-leaning state of Washington overwhelmingly registered their opposition to capital gains taxation. […]
[…] In 2021, voters in the left-leaning state of Washington overwhelmingly registered their opposition to capital gains taxation. […]
[…] than 10 years ago, I narrated this video explaining why there should be no capital gains […]
[…] For more information, I invite people to watch the video I narrated on the topic. And this editorialfrom the Wall Street Journal also is a good […]
[…] For more information, I invite people to watch the video I narrated on the topic. And this editorial from the Wall Street Journal also is a good summary of the […]
[…] than 10 years ago, I narrated this video explaining why there should be no capital gains […]
[…] I’m a fiscal wonk, I’ll close by making the point that the Biden Administration wants to take a bad tax(capital gains tax) and make it worse (by taxing paper gains in addition to actual […]
[…] a fiscal wonk, I’ll close by making the point that the Biden Administration wants to take a bad tax (capital gains tax) and make it worse (by taxing paper gains in addition to actual […]
[…] state of Washington, where voters had the chance to register their approval or disapproval of a capital gains taximposed earlier in the year by the state’s […]
[…] state of Washington, where voters had the chance to register their approval or disapproval of a capital gains taximposed earlier in the year by the state’s […]
[…] state of Washington, where voters had the chance to register their approval or disapproval of a capital gains tax imposed earlier in the year by the state’s […]
[…] means there should be no capital gains tax, much less a tax on unrealized capital gains (or inflationary […]
[…] means there should be no capital gains tax, much less a tax on unrealized capital gains (or inflationary […]
[…] means there should be no capital gains tax, much less a tax on unrealized capital gains (or inflationary […]
[…] finance theory teaches us that the capital gains tax should not exist. Such a levy exacerbates the bias against saving and […]
[…] than 10 years ago, I narrated this video explaining why there should be no capital gains […]
[…] those interested in more details, here’s a video I narrated on the topic back in […]
[…] today’s column, let’s start with a refresher on why this tax shouldn’t […]
[…] finance theory teaches us that the capital gains tax should not exist. Such a levy exacerbates the bias against saving and […]
[…] today’s column, let’s start with a refresher on why this tax shouldn’t […]
[…] finance theory teaches us that the capital gains tax should not exist. Such a levy exacerbates the bias against saving and […]
[…] than 10 years ago, I narrated this video explaining why there should be no capital gains […]
[…] than 10 years ago, I narrated this video explaining why there should be no capital gains […]
[…] those interested in more details, here’s a video I narrated on the topic back in […]
[…] those interested in more details, here’s a video I narrated on the topic back in […]
[…] As explained in the above video, there have been big reductions in personal tax rates and corporate tax rates. Just as important, governments have reduced various forms of double taxation, meaning lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains. […]
[…] As explained in the above video, there have been big reductions in personal tax rates and corporate tax rates. Just as important, governments have reduced various forms of double taxation, meaning lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains. […]
[…] As explained in the above video, there have been big reductions in personal tax rates and corporate tax rates. Just as important, governments have reduced various forms of double taxation, meaning lower tax rates on dividends and capital gains. […]
[…] is the core message in my video on capital gains […]
[…] is the core message in my video on capital gains […]
[…] the horribly unworkable notion of taxing unrealized capital gains, and he definitely wants more double taxation of capital gains, a more punitive death tax, and a higher tax rate on capital gains that are part of “carried […]
[…] For more on that, I recommend this video. […]
[…] is why any form of capital gains taxation is wrong. And it’s especially wrong to impose a hidden – and higher – tax simply because […]
[…] further information, here’s my video explaining why there shouldn’t be any tax on capital […]
[…] do you think? Should capital gains at least be indexed to inflation like our other taxes? The right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] Ideally, there should be no capital gains tax. […]
[…] Ideally, there should be no capital gains tax. […]
[…] capital gains taxes on everything […]
[…] This video has everything you need to know about the taxation of carried interest in particular andthis video has the key facts about capital gains taxation in […]
[…] do you think? Should capital gains at least be indexed to inflation like our other taxes? The right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] GOPers who have long understood that any capital gains tax is a form of double taxation and should be abolished. The issue apparently has some symbolic importance to the President and it could become a major […]
[…] this is the feature of tax reform that probably generates the most growth. As I explain in this video on capital gains taxation, all economic theories – even Marxism and socialism – agree that capital formation is a […]
[…] if you want more info on the overall issue of capital gains taxation, I’m quite partial to my video on the […]
[…] if you want more info on the overall issue of capital gains taxation, I’m quite partial to my video on the […]
I can see some merit to the idea that the capital gains tax should be eliminated. Every dollar gets double taxed under our current system already. Why some people claim that its elimination would be a handout to the wealthy is patently absurd.
[…] This video has everything you need to know about the taxation of carried interest in particular and this video has the key facts about capital gains taxation in […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] double taxed on the interest you earn on your bank balances and other financial accounts. There’s no capital gains tax. There’s no death tax. And there’s no double taxation of […]
[…] taxed on the interest you earn on your bank balances and other financial accounts. There’s no capital gains tax. There’s no death tax. And there’s no double taxation of […]
[…] to accept an oil tax in exchange for the abolition of a tax – perhaps the death tax or capital gains tax – that collects a similar amount of […]
[…] Capital formation is very important for growth, which is one of the reasons why there shouldn’t be any capital gains tax. […]
[…] Capital formation is very important for growth, which is one of the reasons why there shouldn’t be any capital gains tax. […]
[…] to mention that higher tax rates on investment will discourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship. And let’s not forget that it’s not a smart idea, from the perspective of competitiveness, to […]
[…] to mention that higher tax rates on investment will discourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship. And let’s not forget that it’s not a smart idea, from the perspective of […]
Dan, While I agree with you on almost all of your blogs, I cannot agree with you on this one. True, there should be NO double, or multiple, taxation of the same income; but the problem is NOT taxation of the profits (income) enjoyed by the individual investor, but rather the taxation of the source of production – the underlying business. Corporations do not ‘enjoy’ their profits or spend them frivolously on yachts, or hookers, or whatever; it is the living, breathing people who use the income they acquire through investment who have the choice to spend that income wisely or not. A business, run by a good management team, spends its profits solely on improving that business so as to grow, improve its profit margins and encourage more investment from satisfied individual investors – who can then do whatever they wish with their share of the profits. Also true, the GAIN realized by the individual investor depends both on the stock price at buy and sell points, but also on the change in value of the dollar between those two points. MI growth should be taken into account in determining the REAL GAIN and the gain tax adjusted for this growth. With these two changes – NO tax on the business that generates a profit, and MI adjusted tax on the individual investor who enjoys that profit – there is no need to complain about any perceives ‘damage’ due to a Capital Gains Tax. Davidj52.Wordpress.com
On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 1:19 PM, International Liberty wrote:
> doktorthomas2 commented: “Politicians and other idiots have deaf ears > for fact based analysis; otherwise their daily actions would be grossly > different. There is more room for graft, greed, corruption and > self-aggrandizement with more and higher taxes. Ignoring those items that > be”
Politicians and other idiots have deaf ears for fact based analysis; otherwise their daily actions would be grossly different. There is more room for graft, greed, corruption and self-aggrandizement with more and higher taxes. Ignoring those items that benefit the constituents open the doors for even more taxes which leads to more of the above. There is no hope as long as politicians have anything to do with running the county. America would be far better better off honest boobs screwing things up than being raped by professionals.
[…] particularly like the part about the capital gains tax. It’s a good way of illustrating double […]
[…] against income that is saved and invested. It’s possible, when you consider the impact of the capital gains tax, corporate income tax, double tax on dividends, and the death tax, for a single dollar of income to […]
[…] to think about with the President proposing big increases in the double taxation of capital gains. And something to consider since he wants America to have the highest level of dividend double […]
[…] shouldn’t be any double taxation of income that is saved and invested, both the death tax and capital gains tax should be abolished. Needless to say, increasing either tax would have a negative impact on the […]
[…] shouldn’t be any double taxation of income that is saved and invested, both the death tax and capital gains tax should be abolished. Needless to say, increasing either tax would have a negative impact on the […]
[…] more information, here’s the video I narrated for the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, which explains why the capital gains tax should be […]
[…] my video on the topic, which explains that the right capital gains tax rate is […]
[…] But it’s not just England. Other high-income French citizens, such as Gerard Depardieu and Bernard Arnault, are escaping to Belgium (which is an absurdly statist nation, but at least doesn’t impose a capital gains tax). […]
[…] means no death tax, no capital gains tax, no double taxation of interest or dividends. And businesses get a common-sense cash-flow system of […]
[…] But it’s not just England. Other high-income French citizens, such as Gerard Depardieu and Bernard Arnault, are escaping to Belgium (which is an absurdly statist nation, but at least doesn’t impose a capital gains tax). […]
As I recall we had a tea party over being taxed to the extreme years past. It’s about time we repeat that.
[…] By the way, if you want to know why this is a very bad idea, click here. […]
[…] As such the IRS insists on knowing extensive details on our income-producing assets, as well as any capital gains we […]
[…] As such the IRS insists on knowing extensive details on our income-producing assets, as well as any capital gains we […]
[…] My video elaborates on all these issues and explains why the right capital gains tax rate is zero. […]
[…] was bad on tax policy in 1993, but was good on almost everything else (including a cut in the capital gains tax rate in 1997), whereas George W. Bush was okay on tax policy, but was bad on just about everything […]
[…] more information (at least with regards to the tax treatment of capital gains), here’s a video I narrated for the Center for Freedom and […]
[…] the capital gains tax, the corporate income tax, the double tax on dividends, and the death tax, it’s possible for […]
[…] actions identified by the Washington Post are not necessarily immoral. A politician who supports a lower capital gains tax rate, for instance, presumably will benefit directly because of less double taxation on his investments […]
[…] the CBO report assumes that there should be double taxation of dividends and capital gains, so provisions to guard against such destructive policies also are listed as tax […]
[…] the CBO report assumes that there should be double taxation of dividends and capital gains, so provisions to guard against such destructive policies also are listed as tax […]
[…] the current system is very biased against capital formation because of the combined impact of capital gains taxes, corporate income taxes, double taxes on dividends, and death […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] one partial exception to this relationship between good tax policy and long-run tax revenue is the capital gains tax. Lowering that levy can cause big changes to short-run revenue because investors have complete […]
[…] Tory-Lib Dem coalition is similarly bad. In recent years, the capital gains tax has been increased (see these amusing posters to understand why this was a foolish idea), along […]
[…] tax rates would be reduced to 25 percent and many forms of double taxation like the death tax and capital gains tax presumably would be reduced or […]
[…] is excessive, then how does it make sense to increase the corporate tax burden? To impose a capital gains tax? Or to levy a tax on financial […]
[…] In a consumption-base world, there’s no double taxation and the capital gains tax therefore doesn’t exist. But from the perspective of the Haig-Simons tax base, the fact that capital gains are taxed at […]
[…] was bad on tax policy in 1993, but was good on almost everything else (including a cut in the capital gains tax rate in 1997), whereas George W. Bush was okay on tax policy, but was bad on just about everything […]
[…] Tory-Lib Dem coalition is similarly bad. In recent years, the capital gains tax has been increased (see these amusing posters to understand why this was a foolish idea), along […]
[…] My video elaborates on all these issues and explains why the right capital gains tax rate is zero. […]
[…] My video elaborates on all these issues and explains why the right capital gains tax rate is zero. […]
[…] I want to get rid of the double taxation of dividends and capital gains in part because these reforms will boost business […]
[…] I want to get rid of the double taxation of dividends and capital gains in part because these reforms will boost business […]
[…] you don’t want double taxation, the capital gains tax rate in Jersey is zero. That’s a lot better than the United Kingdom (though the rate there is now […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] I noted that Obama said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] actions identified by the Washington Post are not necessarily immoral. A politician who supports a lower capital gains tax rate, for instance, presumably will benefit directly because of less double taxation on his investments […]
[…] said in 2008 that – for reasons of “fairness” – he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] actions identified by the Washington Post are not necessarily immoral. A politician who supports a lower capital gains tax rate, for instance, presumably will benefit directly because of less double taxation on his investments […]
[…] Amen. John is exactly right. He’s making the same arguments I put forward in my video on capital gains taxation. […]
[…] For more information, here’s my video explaining that the right capital gains tax rate is zero. […]
[…] For more information, here’s my video explaining that the right capital gains tax rate is zero. […]
[…] anybody think American competitiveness will improve if we have the highest capital gains tax in the industrialized […]
[…] Tory-Lib Dem coalition is similarly bad. In recent years, the capital gains tax has been increased (see these amusing posters to understand why this was a foolish idea), along […]
[…] 2. Or look at this chart showing the extensive double taxation in our tax code, as well as these international comparisons of how America over-taxes dividends and capital gains. […]
[…] 2. Or look at this chart showing the extensive double taxation in our tax code, as well as these international comparisons of how America over-taxes dividends and capital gains. […]
[…] nothing remotely close to the punitive tax laws that America has for interest, dividends, capital gains, and […]
[…] to think about with the President proposing big increases in the double taxation of capital gains. And something to consider since he wants America to have the highest level of dividend double […]
[…] Amen. John is exactly right. He’s making the same arguments I put forward in my video on capital gains taxation. […]
[…] isn’t just some abstract issue about competitiveness. As I explain in this video, every single economic theory – even Marxism and socialism – agrees that saving and […]
[…] isn’t just some abstract issue about competitiveness. As I explain in this video, every single economic theory – even Marxism and socialism – agrees that saving and […]
[…] I made many of the same points in my video on capital gains taxation. […]
[…] I made many of the same points in my video on capital gains taxation. […]
[…] the IRS will probably be grabbing some portion of that additional wealth because of income taxes, capital gains taxes, and double taxation of […]
Dan Mitchell, you are a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I have been searching websites since I started writing for examiner.com on November 12. At last I have found the place where I can receive the economic education I so desperately need. But what may be more important, I can share your videos with anyone (and everyone) and know that your message will be clearly understood. Thank-you! You are a true patriot!
[…] Simply stated, the federal government largely leaves you unmolested if you consume your after-tax income, but there are as many as four extra layers of tax on income that is saved and invested (a point I also discuss in this video on the capital gains tax). […]
[…] Simply stated, the federal government largely leaves you unmolested if you consume your after-tax income, but there are as many as four extra layers of tax on income that is saved and invested (a point I also discuss in this video on the capital gains tax). […]
[…] Perry prosaic taxation gets absolved of a death tax, a capital gains tax, and a double taxation on dividends. This would significantly revoke a discriminatory and punitive […]
[…] Perry flat tax gets rid of the death tax, the capital gains tax, and the double tax on dividends. This would significantly reduce the discriminatory and punitive […]
[…] my video on class warfare, I noted that Obama in 2008 said he wanted to raise the capital gains tax even if the government lost […]
[…] tax rates, higher payroll tax rates, an expanded alternative minimum tax, a renewed death tax, a higher capital gains tax, more double taxation of dividends, or some other way of extracting money, the goal is to have […]
[…] omission. Given that a single dollar of income can be hit by several layers of tax – capital gains tax, corporate income tax, double tax on dividends, and death tax, this is not a trivial […]
[…] high, but that is just one of the layers of taxation imposed by the internal revenue code. Both the capital gains tax and the tax on dividends result in corporate income being taxed at least two […]
[…] high, but that is just one of the layers of taxation imposed by the internal revenue code. Both the capital gains tax and the tax on dividends result in corporate income being taxed at least two […]
Wasn’t the capital gains tax much higher in the 1980s and 1990s when the stock market grew at far faster rate than it did during the 2000s with the lower capital gains tax rate?
You guys on the “right” have a lot of theories, but the results do not back up your theories.
[…] Here are a handful of the posters being used in the United Kingdom to fight the perversely-destructive proposal to increase tax rates on capital gains. (for an explanation of why the tax should be abolished, see here) […]
[…] October 17, 2010 by Dan Mitchell Here are a handful of the posters being used in the United Kingdom to fight the perversely-destructive proposal to increase tax rates on capital gains. (for an explanation of why the tax should be abolished, see here) […]
[…] Here are a handful of the posters being used in the United Kingdom to fight the perversely-destructive proposal to increase tax rates on capital gains. (for an explanation of why the tax should be abolished, see here) […]
[…] Here are a handful of the posters being used in the United Kingdom to fight the perversely-destructive proposal to increase tax rates on capital gains. (for an explanation of why the tax should be abolished, see here) […]
[…] October 17, 2010 by Dan Mitchell Here are a handful of the posters being used in the United Kingdom to fight the perversely-destructive proposal to increase tax rates on capital gains. (for an explanation of why the tax should be abolished, see here) […]
[…] revenues continuing to rapidly climb even as tax rates approach 100 percent. This creates a huge bias against good tax policy, yet JCT is impervious to evidence that its approach is wildly flawed. And don’t forget that […]
[…] to point out that he didn’t understand tax policy. The 15 percent tax rates on dividends and capital gains to which he presumably was referring represents double taxation, and when added to the tax that […]
[…] do you think? Should capital gains at least be indexed to inflation like our other taxes? The right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] right capital gains tax, of course, is zero. jQuery('#lazyload_post_0 img').lazyload({placeholder: […]
[…] right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
[…] right capital gains tax, of course, is […]
Shouldn’t you add a qualifier of “when the government generates revenue exclusively through a consumption tax”? Given that US government revenues a primarily driven by income taxes, a zero capital gains rate would allow some to restructure their income to benefit from this shifting the burden to other who do not have this option.
Given our current tax structure, I would rather see corporate & estate taxes set to zero, and all personal taxes (income, payroll, dividend, REAL capital gains) taxed at a flat rate. This would promote retaining capital as investment while not favoring income based it’s form.
This achieves 5 of 6 bullet points with the exception of privacy. However, since we would still have the IRS, you’d still have privacy issues if you just zero out the capital gains tax. If we instead zero out corporate income taxes, we would gain the advantage of fairness by income format
Just a thought…