In a debate of Democratic presidential hopefuls last month, John Edwards put forth the following argument:
People who have done well ought to have more responsibility to pay back to the country. We have a capital-gains rate—15 percent—which is the rate that most pay on their investment income, like Warren Buffett. That’s significantly lower than the taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. rate that his secretary pays; that’s not right. There is a moral disconnect.
Edwards echoes the sentiments of other democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton, who were responding to a call from billionaire Warren Buffet for higher tax rates on investment income. (See debate transcript here.)
We recently released a short primer on capital gains and dividend taxation, explaining why investment income is taxed at a different rate than wage income, and which segments of the population are affected most by the different tax rates. As author Gerald Prante explains, there are three basic reasons investment income is taxed at a different rate:
- The increased value of any asset is partly due to inflationInflation is when the general price of goods and services increases across the economy, reducing the purchasing power of a currency and the value of certain assets. The same paycheck covers less goods, services, and bills. It is sometimes referred to as a “hidden tax,” as it leaves taxpayers less well-off due to higher costs and “bracket creep,” while increasing the government’s spending power. , but the tax law doesn’t adjust for inflation. The lower tax rate makes up for that but in a very rough, approximate way.
- Because people can choose when to sell their assets, capital gains are much more sensitive to tax rates than wages. Facing higher wage taxes, people must continue working, but in the face of higher capital gains taxes, people can cling to their assets. This damages the economy and disappoints hopes for higher tax revenue.
- Because people invest in the stock of specific companies, and because the stock’s gain is reduced by the corporate income taxA corporate income tax (CIT) is levied by federal and state governments on business profits. Many companies are not subject to the CIT because they are taxed as pass-through businesses, with income reportable under the individual income tax. , tax experts usually add the corporate income tax rate to the capital gains or dividend rate to compute the real tax rate on capital, which adds up to a much higher rate than the tax on wages.
In addition, the primer ranks the states in terms of the amount of capital gains and dividend income per tax return, with Wyoming, Nevada and Connecticut ranking first, second and third, respectively.
View the new Fiscal Fact here. View the data here.
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