TW, I don't care what your situation is ignorance is ignorance.

"what heavy capital gains burden? would that be the current 15% or the 20% if the bush tax cuts expire"

A company makes $100 profit. It pays 35% in income tax it can only disribute $65 to shareholders in dividend or capital gains. If as a dividend it is taxed at your individual rate or when you sell your stock you are taxed an additional 15%. Its a double tax period end of story.

DanS prefers to shoot the messenger with no corroboration so here is two, one from the left and the right. Argue with them.



"Nobel prize winning economist Milton Friedman first recognized the inequity in double taxation in his book Capitalism and Freedom (The University of Chicago Press, 1962) and wrote about it in Free To Choose (Harcourt, 1990). He wrote,

“The corporate income tax, too, is highly defective. It is a hidden tax that the public pays in the prices it pays for goods and services without realizing it. It constitutes double taxation of corporate income—once to the corporation, once to the shareholder when the income is distributed. It penalizes capital investment and thereby hinders growth in productivity. It should be abolished.”

And recently in his book, Supercapitalism (Random House, 2007), Robert Reich came to the same conclusion:

“In reality, the corporate income tax is paid—indirectly—by the company’s consumers, shareholders, and employees.”, and concludes that “Abolishing the corporate income tax would … help capital markets work better.”

Reich extends his analysis and observes because corporations are not people they should not be afforded the opportunity to challenge laws in courts, nor to lobby government, and should be denied other rights and privileges reserved for citizens. Subsidizing corporations would be unnecessary without a corporate tax. And in this age of bailout-mania, eliminating the business tax would reduce or obviate the need for Washington to rescue companies with taxpayer money.

By ending double taxation, we will create an environment of capital formation, and with it business growth without the need for stimulus, bailout, subsidy, tax credit, tax deduction, tax loophole, or other gimmicks. We believe this is the way we can make our economy strong—permanently strong—and competitive, without deficits, Federal borrowing, and increased taxation.

Friedman-Reich will make unnecessary:

- bailouts
- stimulus packages
- tax loopholes
- government subsidies
- capital gains taxes
- corporate lobbying

Friedman-Reich will:

- attract capital to business
- make companies more competitive in the world economy
- halt layoffs and increase employment
- keep jobs here
- increase the value of retirement and other savings accounts
- make capital markets more efficient and relieve the credit choke
- ultimately increase government tax revenue

There is no better time to consider this proposal. We have an economy that needs revitalization, a new President who has called for bi-partisan ideas, and a breakthrough concept with support from both sides of the political spectrum. This is an idea started by a conservative and advanced by liberals. And Mr. Reich is an advisor to President-elect Obama. We believe we have therefore, at this moment, the perfect storm to advance a proposal that would redress systemic disadvantages our tax system imposes on businesses and capital markets, precisely at the time when both need help."