Affluent Investors Say Tax Increase Wouldn't Alter Strategy

Source: Bloomberg News

By Matthew Benjamin

May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Affluent investors say a small increase in the capital gains tax, as suggested by Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, wouldn't affect their investment decisions.

According to the annual Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times investor poll, 69 percent of upper-income investors say a raise in the capital gains tax to 20 percent from 15 percent wouldn't cause them to sell assets they would otherwise hold.

During the presidential campaign, both Democratic candidates said they would increase the tax on investment income.

Henry Lennon, a surgeon and poll participant in Boca Raton, Florida, who gets significant income from investments, says a 5 percentage-point increase isn't enough to make him alter his portfolio.

``I wouldn't sell anything I now hold because all my investments are long-term,'' the 61-year-old Republican voter says.

Clinton has said she's open to increasing the rate on capital gains and dividends modestly, though not higher than 20 percent and only on Americans with income above $250,000. Obama wants the rate to rise from the current 15 percent level, but not to the 28 percent rate that existed under former President Ronald Reagan.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aMQxTQHyCau8