Roskam: Permanently set capital gains tax at 15 percent

Writing for Investors Business Daily, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), the House Chief Deputy Whip, says we should keep the capital gains tax rate at 15 percent.

#With near-double-digit national unemployment gripping our country, the White House and Washington should be asking a simple question: What can we do to make America the most competitive environment in the world for job creation?

An important first step — with broad support from America's business community — would be to remove uncertainty and make permanent the 15% rate on capital gains and dividends.

Faced with the threat of a dramatic tax increase in 2013, American businesses, investors and families are hamstrung by uncertainty when making consequential investment and financial decisions.

The threat alone of large tax hikes on capital gains and dividends is damaging. But a guaranteed new 3.8% tax from the health care law starting in 2013 coupled with the potential sunsetting of the income tax rates of the last decade would mean effectively a 58% higher tax rate on cap gains and as much as a 189% higher tax rate on dividend income.

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