[quote=AN]So, in essence, you are saying higher cap gain tax for EVERYONE. Those who currently make < $50k/year (those who are in the 10% and 15% tax bracket) are currently paying 0% in long term cap gain and same as their ordinary income for short term cap gain. You're punishing the investor in the 10% & 15% tax bracket, yet don't touch the day traders and the "speculators".
You've been railing against "speculator", yet your proposal don't touch those guys but drastically affect those who are investors (those who hold their investments for at least a year).
BTW, what's your definition of steep? Also, why stop at $500k? I'd say, we should have a billionaire tax. How about 80% tax on all time of incomes for billionaires? Is that steep enough?[/quote]
Yes, I'm suggesting we should have higher cap gains taxes for EVERYONE. For those in the lower tax brackets, it would be in line with the rate on their earned income, so they would still be taxed at a low rate.
You and I define "investing" differently. IMHO, the period of time one holds an asset does not determine whether they are investing or speculating. It's the type of investment that determines whether or not one is "investing" or "speculating."
The "day traders" (Joe Smith at his desk at home who trades a few hundred or a few thousand shares per day) don't bother me. The high-frequency traders DO bother me because of the sheer volume they control, and the leverage that they use. The HFT crowd would indeed be affected by what I propose because they make well into the millions/billions per year -- and not a cent of that benefitted society, BTW.
