Obama and capital gains taxes

[gristy]

From his press conference today
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/10/1128908.aspx

...and he said that his talks with people like Warren Buffet had led him to believe the capital gains tax rate could be raised to 20% without any significant impact in terms of business investment.
...

"My plan eliminates capital gains taxes entirely for the small businesses and startups that are the backbone of our economy as opposed to John McCain's plan, which would tax these businesses."

What is the capital gains tax rate now?
How does Obama propose to define "small" or "startup"?

Not sure I like the sound of this...

[panader0]

1. WTF is a "capital gain"?

Iknow what it is, I just belong to a group of folks that have never had one.

[olkaz]

4. Investment earnings.

You have had capital gains at some point.

Ever had a bank account?

[skids]

7. Bank interest is not capital gains...

...unless it's a really huge ass bank account. It's "interest and normal dividends" and most people don't make over the 1,500 limit to have to file schedule B, but all that requires is for you to sign that you have no foreign holdings, or file more forms if you do.

And McCain is both full of crap and completely out of touch when he talks about 401ks because those are tax exempt and almost anyone who has one knows that full well. Or if they don't they are exatly the type of person McCain is looking to fool/scare into voting for him, but I think he'll find that less people are unaware of how these things work than he supposes.

The only people who get hit by this are e-trade junkies working with post-tax money, and the people so rich they just can't keep their money in a bank.

[AndyTiedye]

9. Bank Interest is NOT a Capital Gain

Capital gains happen when you sell an investment at a profit.
Can be avoided on the sale of your home if you buy a more expensive home within 2 years.
(Yes, our tax policy actually discourages moving to a smaller, cheaper home!)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

6. Profit from stocks, bonds or real estate.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

2. Bush knocked it down to 15%.

[ContinentalOp]

3. I like it

Obviously that's a bit vague and still open for interpretation. Still, Republicans like to give corporate tax cuts that they pretend are supposed to help small businesses but some actual help for small businesses would be a good thing.

The problem would be if any individual could start some kind of small business and get out of paying their personal capital gains taxes. But if "startup" were defined carefully and it were limited to companies with a certain number of employees that were no more than a certain number of years old, etc. it could potentially be a good thing.

[ContinentalOp]

8. Actually, F that

I don't really see the point. Is there any legitimate reason why a small business or startup should make a bunch of money in capital gains by shuffling paper around? Why encourage that? It seems like a big potential loophole for abuse. Aren't there other, better tax incentives to give small businesses?

[NotThisTime]

5. Capital gains are going up to Clinton levels or close to it

We have a massive debt to pay for. As for what is considered a small business, any business compared to Warren Buffet is small, I believe these details should all be out within a week, or at least that's what I heard.... I'd like to put the economic questions to rest once and for all.... I don't know what current capital gains on businesses are... currently, the bigger the business the lower the capital gain, or so it seems...

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. Obama should lower capital gains except for multimilionaires

for example many people have rental properties and they aren't multi millionaires.

Obama should be small business-friendly!