Only if you sell. And if you're invested in a company that is only growing at the rate of inflation then I'd imagine they are paying a decent dividend which is

Only if you sell. And if you're invested in a company that is only growing at the rate of inflation then I'd imagine they are paying a decent dividend which is very possibly a qualified dividend that has no tax associated with it. Reinvesting that into the company creates a compound effect far greater than the inflation rate and will be taxed at the LTCG rate one day when divested from.