Topics in the News: Capital Gains
Elizabeth Warren on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform May 4, 2021)
The wealthy have rigged the tax code: tons of loopholes
Why tax wealth? The answer starts with the astonishing level of inequality in our country. Why is the wealth gap so enormous? Why has it been growing so exponentially? There are multiple reasons, but one that stares us right in the face is that the
wealthy have rigged the tax code. For years, tax breaks and tax cuts have been handed to the people at the top. Taxation of capital gains have been scaled back. S-corporations--closely held corporations that generally don't pay income taxes, were
created just for people pulling in big bucks. There are tons of loopholes that allow rich people to lower their effective annual income tax liability even more.The math isn't complicated. Over decades, an unfair tax code will produce a huge wealth
gap, and a wealth gap can't be fixed just by cleaning the way income tax is taxed in the future. We urgently need a wealth tax. It would help reduce the impact of several decades of a rigged system and also work as a defense from future rigging.
Click for Elizabeth Warren on other issues.
Source: Persist, by Elizabeth Warren, p.61
Janet Yellen on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform May 2, 2021)
Raise capital gains tax rate to same rate as on income
No family earning under $400,000 will pay a penny more in taxes. The other part comes from raising taxes back to the level they were at, 39.6% before 2017 for families making over $400,000. And for the tiny group of Americans making more than a
million dollars, that they would be asked to pay on capital gains and dividends that same rate, rather than the far lower rate it is now. Workers shouldn't face higher taxes on their wage income than wealthy individuals do on their rewards from capital.
Click for Janet Yellen on other issues.
Source: Meet the Press 2021 interview of Secretary of State
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Feb 3, 2021)
Tax earnings over $400K, capital gains & estate tax
[Trump said on ABC] "if Joe Biden ever got in, I think you'd have a Depression the likes of which we have never seen in this country. If you look at his policies, where he wants to raise everybody's taxes." FactCheck by Rocky Mengle in Kiplinger
newsletter, Feb. 3, 2021: He wants to raise the highest personal income rate back up to 39.6% (it was lowered to 37% by the 2017 tax reform law), cap itemized deductions for wealthier Americans, limit "like-kind exchanges" by real estate investors, and
phase-out the 20% deduction for qualified business income for upper-income taxpayers. He won't raise taxes for anyone making less than $400,000, though. As a candidate, Biden's tax policy proposals also included eliminating the step-up in basis for
inherited capital assets, which means more taxes on wealth passed to heirs, and ending favorable tax rates on capital gains for anyone making over $1 million. Also look for the federal estate tax exemption to be increased back to pre-tax reform levels.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: ABC This Week: FactCheck on 2020 Town Hall interview
Janet Yellen on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jan 19, 2021)
Corporations & wealthy need to pay their fair share
Yellen said pandemic relief would take priority over tax increases, but corporations and the wealthy, which both benefited from 2017 Republican tax cuts "need to pay their fair share."She raised eyebrows of some senators and
Wall Street when she said that Treasury would consider the possibility of taxing unrealized capital gains - through a "mark-to-market" mechanism - as well as other approaches to boost revenues.
Click for Janet Yellen on other issues.
Source: Reuters news service on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Mike Pence on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Sep 22, 2020)
Capital gains tax cut increases revenue & creates jobs
Pence wrote, "Conservatives of both parties managed to return the capital gains tax to slightly below its 1986 level of 20%, and in so doing ensured vigorous growth in the nation's economy. Although House Democrats referred to the legislation
as 'immoral' and 'a financial disaster for the country,' the evidence is clear that a reduction in the capital gains tax rate increases revenues, stimulates economic growth and creates jobs." [Indianapolis Star, 11/14/89]
Pence said, "To end the uncertainty that is stifling investment, innovation and growth, we must preserve current tax rates and promote permanent tax reform. Congress must permanently extend the 2001 and 2003 tax rates to ensure no American faces
a tax hike on January 1st, and I have introduced a bill with Sen. Jim DeMint to do just that. Most Americans know that higher taxes won't get anybody hired. Raising taxes on job creators won't create jobs." [Detroit Economic Club, 11/29/10]
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Source: Trump Research Book on Mike Pence
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Budget & Economy Feb 19, 2020)
Ordinary people are getting killed by this economy
We ought to start rewarding work, not just wealth. The idea that we have a tax rate for corporate America at 21 percent is ridiculous. It should be 28 percent. The idea that we have companies not paying anything, they should have a minimum tax of
15 percent. The idea that you're able to have a capital gains tax that you pay at the rate of 20 percent if you are Mike Bloomberg, your staffer is paying at 25 percent is wrong. The middle class is getting killed, and the poor have no way up.
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Source: 9th Democrat 2020 primary debate, in Las Vegas Nevada
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Health Care Feb 7, 2020)
My Medicare if you want it plan is affordable
My proposal gives you a choice. You're going to be covered. You have prescription prices, reduce copays, et cetera. And it cost a lot of money, it costs
$750 billion over 10 years. I tell you how I'm going to pay for it. I'm going to raise the capital gains rates
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: 8th Democrat 2020 primary debate, St. Anselm College in NH
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Health Care Feb 5, 2020)
Tax capital gains at bracket levels to pay for health plan
Q: The Affordable Care Act has been gutted, most notably the individual mandate. BIDEN: I'm going to restore the cuts, reduce out-of-pocket expenses and premiums, and add a Medicare option for those who want it. If you have private insurance, and
you like it, keep it. If they cancel the policy, you can buy into the Biden plan. I'm adding $1 billion for dealing with drug abuse and opioids. I can pay for it by making sure people pay their capital gains at whatever their tax rate is.
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Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary
Cory Booker on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Nov 20, 2019)
No wealth tax, but raise estate tax
BOOKER: I think we all agree that we need to bring in a lot more revenue in this country. We have a real problem with the tax rates, tax loopholes, tax cheats. I don't agree with the wealth tax, the way that Elizabeth Warren puts it, but I agree that we
need to raise the estate tax. We need to tax capital gains as ordinary income. We as Democrats need to fight for a just taxation system. We Democrats also have to talk about how to grow wealth.WARREN: With that two-cent wealth tax on the top
one-tenth of 1% in this country: we can provide universal childcare. We can raise the wages of every pre-schoolteacher. We can make college tuition-free for every kid.
BOOKER: If I am president, we're going to have a fair, just taxation where
millionaires pay their fair share, but we're going to have pathways to prosperity for more Americans. We're going to see a change in what we see right now. Small businesses, new startups are going down. We need to give new entrepreneurs access to wealth.
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Source: November Democratic primary debate in Atlanta
Julian Castro on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Nov 19, 2019)
Tax capital gains annually, not when assets sold
Castro would target the annual untaxed gains the wealthy realize on the value of their assets. Deep pockets currently pay tax on their investing profits only when they sell assets. Under the mark-to-market approach that Castro favors, owners of assets
that gain in annual value would pay tax on those gains. Workers have their labor income taxed at the end of every year, and "multi-millionaires and billionaires who rely primarily on investment income" should have the same obligation, he said.
Click for Julian Castro on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Andrew Yang on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Nov 19, 2019)
End Social Security cap, favorable capital gains treatment
Yang's second set of taxes would be far more progressive. His administration would kill the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax, implement a financial transaction tax, and end the favorable tax treatment of capital gains.
This year's most discussed proposal for taxing the rich--an annual wealth tax--leaves Yang skeptical. In practice, he told CNBC's Harwood, a wealth tax would have "massive" implementation and compliance problems.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Nov 19, 2019)
Undo 2017 tax cut, eliminate "stepped-up basis loophole"
Biden has not proposed a wealth tax or a marked increase in the highest income tax rate. He has not yet supported a financial transaction tax targeting Wall Street highfliers. He supports undoing the 2017 Trump tax giveaway to the rich and ending the
preferential tax treatment of their capital gains. He has also come out in favor of eliminating the stepped-up basis loophole, a tax code provision that allows the rich to sidestep taxes on assets that have appreciated mightily over the years.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Joe Sestak on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Nov 19, 2019)
End preferential treatment of capital gains
A former admiral and a Pennsylvania congressman, Sestak has made ending corporate welfare one of his signature issues. Sestak says he wants to end the preferential tax treatment of capital gains and supports the
elimination of the step-up loophole that lets the affluent transfer appreciated stock and other assets to their heirs without ever incurring a capital gains tax.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: The Nation magazine on 2019 Democratic primary
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Oct 15, 2019)
Double the capital gains tax
Take a look at the tax code right now. We have to start rewarding work, not just wealth. I would raise the capital gains tax to the highest rate of 39.5%. I would double it, because guess what? Why in God's name should someone who's clipping coupons in
the stock market pay a lower tax rate than someone like a schoolteacher and a firefighter. We need to make it clear that we are going to raise taxes on the wealthy. We're going to reduce tax burdens on those who are not.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate
Joe Walsh on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Sep 24, 2019)
Cut the capital gains tax and the corporate tax rate
On taxes:- Walsh is in favor of extending the Bush era tax cuts and abolishing the estate tax.
- He also favors cutting the capital gains tax and the corporate tax rate.
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: Business Insider background for 2019 GOP presidential debate
John Hickenlooper on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Aug 12, 2019)
Treat dividends & long-term capital gains as ordinary income
Gov. Hickenlooper also wants to change the way capital gains are taxed. For instance, he supports treating dividends and long-term capital gains as ordinary income (with exceptions for long-term capital gains linked to small businesses, primary
residences and retirement accounts), including gains realized when the asset owner dies. He also wants to adjust taxable long-term gains to account for inflation over the period that an asset is held.
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: Rocky Mengle, finance.yahoo.com, on 2019 Democratic primary
John Delaney on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jul 30, 2019)
Raise capital gains rate, but no unconstitutional taxes
This is not about whether wealthy Americans should pay more. We can raise the capital gains rate to match the ordinary income. You know the last president to do that was actually Ronald Reagan. We can do that in our first year.
I've called for the expansion of universal pre-K through an additional tax on high net worth individuals. But we don't need to come up with new taxes that are arguably unconstitutional and will be fought in court for years.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Amy Klobuchar on Capital Gains:
(Technology Jul 30, 2019)
We need infrastructure plan; fix the damn roads
I am the first one that came out with an infrastructure plan and I did that because this is a bread and butter issue for people that are caught in traffic jams. I think the Governor here in Michigan smartly ran on the slogan, "fix the damn roads,"
and it is an issue for union jobs. I would put $1 trillion into this, and I would pay for it by first of all changing the capital gains rate. I would take that money and put it in to rural broadband and green infrastructure.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
Seth Moulton on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jul 17, 2019)
Tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income
Seth Moulton on Capital Gains Taxes : Increase the capital gains tax rate.SEVEN CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; John Delaney; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Bernard Sanders; Andrew Yang.
Delaney & Moulton would tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income. Sanders favors ending the capital gains break for those with household income above $250,000. Biden advocates doubling the tax rate for those making over $1 million.
Click for Seth Moulton on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
John Delaney on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jul 17, 2019)
Tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income
John Delaney on Capital Gains Taxes : Increase the capital gains tax rate.SEVEN CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; John Hickenlooper; Amy Klobuchar; Seth Moulton; Bernard Sanders; Andrew Yang.
Delaney & Moulton would tax capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income. Sanders favors ending the capital gains break for those with household income above $250,000. Biden advocates doubling the tax rate for those making over $1 million.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Andrew Yang on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Mar 29, 2019)
Same tax rate on capital gains as on earned income
Capital gains and carried interest currently receive favorable treatment by the tax code. This privileges investors over workers and promotes speculation. It's irrational that we privilege capital gains and investment income versus earned income.
The top 20% own 92% of the stock market, and the bottom half of Americans own essentially zero. We should be encouraging and rewarding work first and foremost. An investor should not be paying a lower tax rate on gains than the person who
is working hard every day. I've worked and invested and working is a lot harder.As President, I will...- Propose an end to favorable tax treatment for capital gains and carried interest. Ending the carried interest treatment loophole
alone would generate $18 billion per year in revenue and ending favorable treatment of capital gains would generate tens of billions more.
Click for Andrew Yang on other issues.
Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com
Bill Weld on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Feb 15, 2019)
Cut capital gains tax; look at flat tax on income
Federal taxes need serious adjustment downward. I favor repealing the federal death tax, for example, and cutting the capital gains tax rate to 10%. These taxes are not major revenue raisers, and they both have the perverse effect of penalizing people
for a lifetime of hard work. Eliminating them will increase our aggregate national wealth, which should always be a key priority of the United States government.But we also need to restructure our entire tax system. We don't need to choose between
Robin Hood-style confiscatory taxation and deficit-creating tax cuts for the super-rich. We should instead take a good long look at some other models, such as a 19% flat tax on income, and the famous "post card" tax return. I have read extensively
on the subject, and I believe the savings from the dramatic simplification of the Internal Revenue Code and the whole process of taxation would be enormous.
Click for Bill Weld on other issues.
Source: Speech in New Hampshire by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Cory Booker on Capital Gains:
(Health Care Feb 1, 2019)
Backs Medicare-for-All
- Booker calls health care an "American right" and co-sponsored "Medicare for All" legislation introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
- The government-run plan would be phased in over four years and end the private insurance market as it
currently exists.
- It would be paid for by a tax on employers and increased taxes on capital gains and on incomes exceeding $250,000.
- Booker had previously defended the Affordable Care Act but stopped short of supporting a single-payer plan.
Click for Cory Booker on other issues.
Source: PBS News hour on 2020 Presidential hopefuls
John Delaney on Capital Gains:
(Technology May 29, 2018)
More money into R&D, to enable entrepreneurial risk
How can we encourage a more entrepreneurial America? Here are some steps I believe we should take that would help. - Pursue policies that encourage and enable people to take the risks that accompany entrepreneurship.
-
Put more money into research and development, particularly if we want to be an entrepreneurial country.
- Institute a higher capital gains tax rate for short-term investing and at the same time provide very low
rates for those who hold their investments for ten years or more.
- Eliminate duplicate and pointless regulations that serve as major stumbling blocks for businesses.
I'm convinced that taking these four steps will help
Americans, and our government, become far more innovative. I'm also convinced that if we don't learn how to become more innovative, our economic system and our very democracy will soon be at risk.
Click for John Delaney on other issues.
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p.124-6
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Oct 24, 2017)
1972 Senate race: Opposed capital gains tax cut
As Team Biden neared the finish line, they were running out of money. And they needed to keep their radio ads on the air. If they lost the ads, they'd lose the election. But with ten days to go until election day, the coffers were empty. So, Val
[Biden's sister campaign manager] arranged a meeting with some fat-cat investment counselors. They were ready to give. In a private meeting, they asked Biden what he thought about lowering the capital gains rate. "I knew the answer I thought
they wanted to hear," Biden remembered. "All I had to say was that I'd consider it. And I couldn't say it--I just couldn't lie to their faces." He told them he wasn't for changing capital gains.
The meeting ended. On the way home, Brother Jimmy told
him. "Joe, I sure in hell hope you feel that strongly about capital gains because you just lost the election." Biden didn't look back. Instead, he took out a second mortgage on his home. The ads stayed up.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: The Book of Joe, by Jeff Wilser, p. 42-43
Donald Trump on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Oct 10, 2016)
FactCheck: Cutting carried interest gains $18B in revenue
Donald Trump said, "We're getting rid of carried interest provisions. I'm lowering taxes actually." Is that true? And what is "carried interest"?The "carried-interest tax loophole" allows managers of investment funds to treat the bulk of their
earnings as long-term capital gains instead of income. The current tax rate on capital gains for higher-income tax brackets is 20%. The ordinary tax rate for the same ultra-wealthy class is 39.6%. This tax break benefits only about 2,000 people in the
country. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that taxing carried interest at ordinary rates would net $18 billion over 10 years. ["Capital and Main," by Judith Lewis Mernit, June 21, 2016]
In plain English, yes, Trump is proposing getting
rid of a tax loophole that would raise taxes on a few wealthy people, and lower taxes by $18 billion overall (if the revenue were distributed in a way that benefited other taxpayers).
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: OnTheissues FactCheck on Second 2016 Presidential Debate
Bernie Sanders on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Apr 30, 2015)
Double the capital gains tax for the wealthiest 2%
The current ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee, Sanders would nearly double taxes on capital gains and dividends for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. In addition, this year Sanders asked President Obama to use
executive action to close six tax deductions benefitting corporations and hedge funds. The Vermont senator would use some of the revenue gained from higher taxes on the rich to lower taxes for middle and lower class Americans.
Click for Bernie Sanders on other issues.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
Barack Obama on Capital Gains:
(Budget & Economy Oct 16, 2012)
Romney's plan will blow up the deficit or raise your taxes
The fact that Romney only has to pay 14% on his taxes when a lot of you are paying much higher--he's already taken that off the board, capital gains are going to continue to be at a low rate so we're not going to get money that way. Romney was a
very successful investor. If somebody came to him with a plan to spend $7 to 8 trillion, then we're going to pay for it, but we can't tell you until maybe after the election how we're going to do it, you wouldn't take such a sketchy deal and neither
should you, the American people, because the math doesn't add up. Either this blows up the deficit just to pay for the additional spending that he's talking about, $7 to 8 trillion before we even get to the deficit we already have. Or, alternatively,
it's got to be paid for, not only by closing deductions for wealthy individuals that will pay for about 4% reduction in tax rates. You're going to be paying for it. You're going to lose some deductions. Nobody who's looked at it that's serious actually b
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Second Obama-Romney 2012 debate
Joe Biden on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Oct 11, 2012)
Not mathematically possible to cut $5T in loopholes
RYAN: We raise about $1.2 trillion through income taxes; we forgo about $1.1 trillion in loopholes and deductions. Deny those loopholes and deductions to higher-income taxpayers, so we can lower tax rates across the board.BIDEN: You think these guys
are going to go out there and cut those loopholes? The biggest loophole they take advantage of is the carried interest loophole and capital gains loophole. They exempt that. The only way you can find $5 trillion in loopholes is cut the mortgage deduction
for middle-class people, cut the health care deduction for middle-class people, take away their ability to get a tax break to send their kids to college. That's why they [won't provide specifics].
Q: Is he wrong about that?
RYAN: He is wrong about
that. You can cut tax rates by 20% and still preserve these important preferences for middle-class taxpayers.
BIDEN: Not mathematically possible.
RYAN: It is mathematically possible. It's been done before.
BIDEN: It has never been done before.
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Source: 2012 Vice Presidential debate
Donald Trump on Capital Gains:
(Free Trade Dec 5, 2011)
20% tax on all imported goods
If we want jobs in America, we need to enact my 5-part tax policy: kill the death tax; lower the tax rates on capital gains & dividends; eliminate corporate taxes in order to create more American jobs; mandate a 15% tax for outsourcing jobs and a
20% tax for importing goods, and enact the 1-5-10-15 income tax plan [four brackets with a top rate of 15%].Government needs to stop pick-pocketing your wallet. Every time it does, it slows growth and kills jobs. It's also immoral.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Time to Get Tough, by Donald Trump, p. 65
Joe Walsh on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Sep 16, 2011)
Index capital gains tax to inflation
Today, Congressman Joe Walsh introduced H.R. 2945 to increase capital access for individuals and small businesses looking to invest and create jobs. Specifically, the bill will amend the Internal Revenue Code to index the capital gains tax to inflation
so that taxes are not paid on inflation."This bill will benefit all Americans and create quality jobs in our communities," said Congressman Walsh. "By not forcing Americans to pay taxes on inflation, we are providing much needed tax relief to
American families and freeing up the capital that businesses need to hire more employees."
"This is the type of real action that Washington needs to take to remove impediments to job growth in this country. Throwing more irresponsible stimulus money
at the problem is not going to create jobs. Common-sense tax and regulatory reforms like my bill will enable American families and businesses to create jobs now and invest in the future."
Click for Joe Walsh on other issues.
Source: 2011 House press release by 2020 presidential hopefuls
Barack Obama on Capital Gains:
(Corporations Oct 15, 2008)
No capital gains tax on earnings under $250K
OBAMA: I want to provide a tax cut for 95 percent of working Americans. If you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, then you will not see your income tax go up, your capital gains tax go up, your payroll tax. Not one dime. In fact, independen
studies have looked at our respective plans and have concluded that I provide three times the amount of tax relief to middle-class families than Sen. McCain does. McCAIN: Sen. Obama was in Ohio and he had an encounter with a plumber, his name is Joe.
Joe wants to buy the business, but he looked at your tax plan and saw he was going to pay higher taxes, which was going to cause him not to be able to employ people. Joe, I’ll not only help you buy that business you worked your whole life for,
I’ll keep your taxes low. I will not stand for a tax increase on small business. And what you want to do to Joe and millions like him is have their taxes increased and not be able to realize the American dream of owning their own business.
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Source: 2008 third presidential debate against John McCain
Barack Obama on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Aug 1, 2008)
Adjust capital gains tax up to where Reagan set it
On September 18, 2007, when Obama laid out his tax fairness plan for the middle class, he proposed adjusting the capital gains rate "to something closer to--but no greater than--the rates Ronald Reagan set in 1986."
The problem is that the capital gains rate has dropped since the days of Ronald Reagan. Stated less rhetorically and more straightforwardly, Obama was proposing to RAISE the long-term capital gains tax from 15 percent to 28 percent, nearly doubling it.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obama Nation, by Jerome Corsi, p.244
Barack Obama on Capital Gains:
(Social Security Apr 27, 2008)
Raise cap on payroll tax for 3% of earners over $102,000
Q: The Republicans are keeping a running total of all your plans. They say it’s $662 billion over four years.A: Right.
Q: They say for all your promises not to raise taxes on the middle class, that, in fact, you want to raise the cap on the
Social Security payroll tax, and you also want to increase capital gains.
A: In terms of raising the cap on the payroll tax, right now everybody who’s making $102,000 or less pays 100% of payroll tax on 100% of their income.
There are about 3% to 4% of Americans who are above $102,000 in income every year. So if you want to talk about who’s middle class, me giving cuts to folks making $60,000 or $70,000, and potentially asking more from friends of mine like
Warren Buffett. That’s a debate I’m happy to have with John McCain, because it’s the people making $75,000, $50,000, $60,000 who are hurting.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Fox News interview: presidential series
Hillary Clinton on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Apr 16, 2008)
Perhaps raise capital gains tax, but at most to 20%
Q: You favor an increase in the capital gains tax, saying, “I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%.” It’s now 15%. That’s almost a doubling if you went to 28%. Bill Clinton dropped the capital gains tax to 20%, then
George Bush has taken it down to 15%. OBAMA: What I’ve said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.
Q: Sen. Clinton, would you say, “No, I’m not going to raise capital gains taxes”?
CLINTON: I wouldn’t raise it above the 20% if I raised it at all. I would not raise it above what it was during the Clinton administration.
Q: “If I raised it at all”. Would you propose an increase in the capital gains tax?
CLINTON: You know, I’m going to have to look and see what the revenue situation is. We now have the largest budget deficit we’ve ever had, $311 billion. We went from a $5.6 trillion projected surplus to what we have today, which is a $9 trillion debt.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary
Barack Obama on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Apr 16, 2008)
Raise capital gains tax for fairness, not for revenue
Q: You favor an increase in the capital gains tax, saying, “I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%.” It’s now 15%. That’s almost a doubling if you went to 28%. Bill Clinton dropped the capital gains tax to 20%, then
George Bush has taken it down to 15%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down.A: What I’ve said is that I would look at raising the
capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. The top 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year--$29 billion for 50 individuals. Those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than
their secretaries. That’s not fair.
Q: But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up.
A: Well, that might happen or it might not. It depends on what’s happening on Wall Street and how business is going.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2008 Philadelphia primary debate, on eve of PA primary
Joe Sestak on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Nov 7, 2006)
Bush tax oplicies shift burden to middle class & future
The Bush Administration’s tax cuts deprived us of the revenue to address urgent challenges, while mortgaging our children’s futures and shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle and lower working classes. The repeal of the estate tax, the
lowering of the upper tax brackets, and the reduction in dividend and capital gains taxes means that our government is taxing working families more on their incomes than billionaires on the wealth they inherit (0%) or the stock profits they turn (15%).
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: 2006 House campaign website, sestakforcongress.com, “Issues”
Amy Klobuchar on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Oct 15, 2006)
Reduce $250B deficit by rolling back capital gains & top 1%
Q: 57,000 households in Minnesota make over $200,000 a year. A lot of small businesses, people who create the jobs. And you want to come along and pound them with a new tax increase by taking away their tax cut. Why?KLOBUCHAR: Our debt is approaching
$9 trillion. This administration and this Congress took a $200 billion surplus and turned it into $250 billion deficit. One out of 12 of the federal tax dollars that Minnesotans are paying goes to interest on this debt. And this is my solution: First of
all, let’s look at those $70 billion that’s being sheltered in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda for multi-millionaires. Get rid of those shelters. Next, look at capital gains. Not changing the rate, but having a third-party validator like brokerage houses
post those because there’s underpayment. That brings in $17 billion. Roll back the tax cuts to the Clinton levels, to the top 1%. That brings another $56 billion in. Get rid of the no-bid contracts so we have competitive bidding, $10 billion.
Click for Amy Klobuchar on other issues.
Source: 2006 MN Senate debate, on Meet the Press
Bernie Sanders on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jun 11, 2006)
Capital gains & dividend tax cuts are giveaways to the rich
Sanders says a new plan in Congress is a giveaway to wealthy people. A key part of the legislation being debated in Washington this week extends a rate reduction on capital gains and dividend income for another two years. Sanders opposed the measure
because he says 43 % of the tax benefits will go to individuals who earn at least a million dollars a year. Sanders says, “I think that that’s absurd. I mean this is again another example of President Bush and the Republican leadership leaning over
backwards to help people who really don’t need any help. These are the wealthiest people in this country who are doing extraordinarily well and the help for the middle class is minimum.“Sanders says he also opposed the bill because he feels it will
increase the national debt. Sanders says, ”According to the non partisan CBO, the major reason that President Bush has presided over the largest deficits in our nation’s history is due to his tax policy and this will only make a very bad situation worse.
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Source: Bob Kinzel series of interviews on Vermont Public Radio
Marty Walsh on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jun 15, 2005)
Voted NO on capital gains tax rebates
Massachusetts Democratic Party Platform indicates voting NO in Part IV: ECONOMIC GROWTH: Clause 14, tax breaks to wealthy. [State Rep. Walsh, a Democrat, voted NO].This vote was on an amendment to an omnibus tax reform bill.
The amendment would reduce revenue available for state programs by $250 million through tax rebates to people affected by the repeal of the capital gains tax break in 2002, a rebate primarily benefiting the wealthiest 1% of people in the state.
Voting NO would reject the capital gains tax rebates.
The relevant part of the MassDems Platform is Part iv. ECONOMIC GROWTH, Clause 14: We oppose the Republican administration policy of giving tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals....
These policies unfairly increase the tax burden at the state and local level.
Bill H. 2606, sec. 56-57 ; vote number H075
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Source: Massachusetts House voting record via MassScorecard.org
Donald Trump on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jul 2, 2000)
Opposes flat tax; benefits wealthy too much
I object to the flat tax:- It is unfair to the poor; eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit [hurts] taxpayers at the lowest rungs of the ladder.
- It is unfair to workers by taxing them for health insurance and other benefits.
- Only the
wealthy would reap a windfall, because a flat tax would allow them to cash in interest payments and capital gains without paying personal income taxes.
- I don’t believe that a flat tax could raise enough revenue to keep the government operating.
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Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.186
Mike Gravel on Capital Gains:
(Tax Reform Jan 1, 1972)
Less regressive tax on poor; more capital gains on rich
The inequities of today’s tax system rob the lower & middle income citizens, while favoring the rich & supporting huge corporations, whose owners are taxed at only a fraction of what they should pay. People with annual earnings below $2,000 pay about 40%
of their income in taxes of all kinds. People earning below $50,000 pay about 30%. Only for persons earning over $50,000 does the effective tax rate begin to rise, but even then only to 45%. We find the burden of taxes falling just as heavily on the poor
as on the well-to-do, partly because everybody has to pay state, local & federal taxes that tend to be highly regressive--sales, gasoline, personal property, real estate, & social security taxes--and partly because of the loopholes built into the present
federal income tax system.The largest loophole is the break given the rich who have capital gains income. Today such income is taxed at a much lower rate than earned income. Capital gains should be treated as ordinary income & taxed accordingly.
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Source: Citizen Power, by Sen. Mike Gravel, p.131
Page last updated: Feb 28, 2022
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