We all know that taxes can have a devastating effect on our pursuit of wealth but inflation makes the true tax rate on our gains much higher. Under recently passed “healthcare” legislation, there will be a new 3.9 percent increase in the capital gains rate in 2013 and another jump of 20 percent if the President gets HIS way. So much for helping the middle class.
As bad as this sounds to people who actually understand economics, it gets much worse for investors and business owners. Imposing a tax on inflationary gains can literally wipe out everything you made … maybe even more.
For those of you at work that can’t see the video because your MIS department blocks it:
The mini-documentary uses an example of what happens to an investor who bought an asset 10 years ago for $5,000 and sold it this year for $6,000. This year, the IRS will want 15 percent of the $1,000 gain (Obama wants the tax burden on capital gains to climb even MORE to 23.9 percent). Some people may think that a 15 percent tax is reasonable, but how many of those people understand that inflation during the past 10 years was more than 27 percent, and $6,000 today is actually worth only about $4,700 after adjusting for the falling value of the dollar?
