6 of 22
BACKNEXT
Taxing Wealth
McCain would apply a lighter hand to taxes paid by the wealthy than would Obama, who wants to make the tax code more progressive.

· Preserve the 15% tax rate on carried interest - the cut that private equity and hedge fund managers take when the funds they manage make a profit.

· Increase the amount of money exempt from the estate tax to $5 million.

· Reduce the top estate tax rate to 15% from 55% - where it otherwise will be in 2011 under current law.

· Reduce long-term capital gains rate to 7.5% for 2009 and 2010. Keep short-term capital gains and dividend tax rates where they are.

· Increase the amount of capital losses which can be used in tax years 2008 and 2009 to offset ordinary income from $3,000 to $15,000.

"Sharply raising taxes on investment is a step in the wrong direction for the competitiveness of U.S. capital markets." -- McCain*
· Tax carried interest as ordinary income rather than as an investment gain, thereby subjecting it to much higher tax rates than 15%.

· Freeze the exemption amount of estates free from the estate tax at $3.5 million -- where it will be in 2009.

· Freeze top estate tax rate at 45%.

· Raise capital gains and dividend tax rates to 20% from 15% for couples making more than $250,000 and singles making more than $200,000.

"We've lost the balance between work and wealth. I will close the carried interest loophole, and adjust the top dividends and capital gains rate..." -- Obama**




NEXT: Fighting Foreclosure
Last updated October 29 2008: 12:15 PM ET
Source:
*July 23, 2007, Speech, Benton Harbor, Mich.
**Sept. 18, 2007, Speech, Washington, D.C.
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.