Clinton to propose increasing capital gains taxes

Thomson ReutersHillary Clinton speaks during the Arkansas Democrats’ Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2015 in Little RockWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Presidential contender Hillary Clinton’s proposed plan to overhaul capital gains taxes aims to foster long-term growth by taxing some short-term investments at higher rates, an aide for her campaign said on Monday.

Although information on the plan haven’t begun to be completed, it is build a slipping fee climb situated on the size of a financial commitment, someone having the Democratic candidate’s plan said. Clinton will propose at least a third rate that would be higher than the 28 percent rate that President Obama has floated for the highest earners, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act can not be rewarded more than $1.6 million, an amount Clinton should be “sharply increased”, her campaign staff said soon after in an email to reporters.

Currently, gains on investments held for less than a year are taxed at ordinary income tax rates, while those held for longer than a year are taxed at a maximum rate of 23.8 percent for the highest earners.

Ms Clinton, the favorite to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2016 presidential election, has not ruled out raising it as high as the regular income tax rate, the Journal said. “Both business leaders and labor leaders have been speaking out about this in recent years”, she said. While Clinton’s proposal is still being finalized, her rate would likely be higher than Obama’s plan for the shortest-held investments, according to a campaign official who spoke anonymously to discuss plans still being developed.

Clinton’s proposal comes as part of her plan to fight an excessive focus on quick profits in capital markets, including capital gains, which are the profits made on selling capital assets such as shares or real estate.

Several fund managers and financial planners said they did not think the proposals would significantly change corporations’or shareholders’ behavior, although they would probably cause a small increase in costs for brokerage firms.

Last month, Neera Tanden, the head of the liberal Center for American Progress and a prominent Clinton adviser, proposed a “sliding-scale” capital gains tax that would drop the rate charged the longer the security is held.