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Friday, July 02, 2010

SBE Council Signs Letter to Freeze Capgains and Dividends Tax Rates

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) signed a coalition letter thanking U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) for his efforts to stop the looming increases in capital gains and dividends tax rates scheduled for the end of this year.

The letter says:

We are writing to express our appreciation for your efforts to protect Americans from tax increases that would take effect at the end of the year. In particular, we applaud your work to keep the capital gains tax rate at 15 percent. Allowing the rate to climb to 20 percent, as the President proposes, would negatively impact the economy, national competitiveness, and the well-being of all Americans.

A higher capital gains rate discourages risk-taking and productive capital formation, which would mean less economic growth and job creation. Moreover, it is quite likely that a higher rate actually reduces tax revenue - especially in the long run. Taxes on capital gains also violate basic principles of fairness. It is a form of double taxation since people buy assets with income that already has been taxed. This is why every pro-growth tax reform plan eliminates the tax. Moreover, since the capital gains tax is not indexed to inflation, it often amounts to a tax on imaginary gains.

For many reasons, the capital gains tax should be abolished. The perfect should not be the enemy of the good, however, so we also recognize that a lower rate is better than a higher one. And we certainly do not want to see American competitiveness undermined by a higher tax rate.

Thankfully, we can count on your leadership on this issue. The undersigned applaud and support your efforts.


The full letter and list of signers is available here.

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