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Capital gains are taxed at the same level as income tax, except when they are long-term investments, meaning longer than a year. The reason long-term investment

• charlesdm 9y ago
  As capital holders we will always have an incentive to invest. It's a way to let our money work for us, without having to put in time. Also don't forget companies wouldn't get taxed; the companies you hold would not have to pay corporate tax, so there would be more $$'s available to distribute to shareholders. You wouldn't actually be receiving less money after tax. > The reason long-term investments are taxed at a lower rate is because you want to incentivize long-term investing as it increases stability. Since most equities are held by tax exempt entities (whether that is domestic or abroad, e.g. pension funds or hedge funds in a tax haven), this argument doesn't make sense. The stock price of AAPL or YELP is not going to tank because an individual investors sells (barring perhaps the CEO). The tax rate is lower generally to account for inflation. But not all countries have sliding capital gains tax rates. The UK has a 28% rate, most capital gains are exempt in Belgium and the Netherlands (but the latter has a small wealth tax), France just introduced a 30% rate, etc.