Political Quotes

“today I am introducing capital gains legislation which I believe has the possibility of breaking through the impasse we have had on this issue for the last several years. My proposal is based not on political rhetoric, but on conversations I have had with constituents who support a commonsense approach on this issue. My legislation would provide a sliding scale for capital gains relief, lowering the rate at which capital gains are taxed, based on how long the assets have been held. For every year an asset has been held, the applicable rate would be reduced by 2 percentage points. Assets held for more than 1 year would be taxed at no higher than the current 28 percent. Assets held for 2 years would be taxed at no higher than 26 percent. And so on, down to a rate of 14 percent. Assets held for more than 8 years would be taxed at a maximum rate of 14 percent. I am introducing the legislation with three objectives in mind. First, I believe our efforts should be directed toward helping family farms and small family businesses. We do not need additional proposals to assist real estate speculators or those who specialize in putting Wall Street deals together. Most capital gains proposals we have considered in recent years provide a disproportionate benefit to those making six-figure salaries and above. It should be clear by now that we cannot pass a capital gains proposal that primarily benefits the wealthy.”