"If income is defined as income earned other than from investments - as it should - more than 50 percent of capital gains go to lower- and middle-class individuals. The typical household declaring a capital gain had income from other sources of only $58,729 - not bad, but not rich. Another 27 percent were elderly or blind - with incomes averaging $43,637 per year. In a declining market, this large group will make themselves heard - as they did on the "death tax" last year - especially if someone helps organize this potentially potent constituency."
What is funny about these numbers? How do they get that over 50% of all capgains go to middle or lower class? Is it b/c they count pensioners, who need more to liquidate their investments than the 5% of equity owners who own 80% of stock?
WT continued: "Federal taxes are too high, consuming 20.5 percent of economic output in 1998, the highest peacetime level ever."
We are back to Daniel Davies point. With a lower capgains tax, the rise in receipts must be due to something else. Dividend income almost doubled between 1990 and 98--from $142 to 263+ billion. That is taxed at the marginal rate, no? Seems a good a place as any to start, if it is.
Christian