Articles

Upper-Income Taxpayers Plan for Capital Gains & Income Tax Hike, WSJ

Capital-gains taxes, currently set at 15%, are set to rise. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said they should rise to 20%. Without congressional action, they will be treated as regular income and will be subject to a taxpayer's top marginal rate.

Arch Brown has converted his traditional retirement accounts into plans with better tax advantages. Andrew Ahrens has been buyin gold and silver and selling stocks. Archie Anderson might speed up the sale of two equities himself. Mike Henry is considering selling timber.The four are among a growing group of high-income taxpayers who assume they will see higher taxes next year, no matter what Congress does to address the expiring tax cuts from the George W. Bush administration. More than four months before the expiration date, they are making plans to mitigate any impact.Mr. Brown, a Tucson,Ariz.,businessman, said he is working on the assumption that "the tax rates for people like me who have income over $250,000 will go up."The maneuvering ahead of Dec. 31 has confounded traditional tax preparations and spawned feverish activity among higher earners, a trend reported by tax planners and financial advisers across the country.
By Gary Knight, August 21, 2010 WSJ

Link to article


08/21/10 wsj