Jefferson City, Missouri (AP) — Speculators who realise profits from the liquidation of stocks, properties, and sundry assets could conceivably reap enhanced emoluments in the near future within Missouri, as the state is poised to become the inaugural American jurisdiction to accord capital gains an exemption from income tax.

The legislative measure, ratified on Wednesday, is poised to suspend capital gains tax for individuals this year, with a prospective ultimate abrogation for corporations should state revenues sustain their upward trajectory. This proposal for fiscal deregulation has been transmitted to Governor Mike Key Hoe, a Republican, who has reportedly articulated a position of considerable endorsement.

While proponents anticipate this measure will galvanise the economy, detractors posit that the abrogation of capital gains tax will predominantly advantage the affluent, culminating in diminished fiscal revenues for public education and municipal services. The Republican-controlled legislature surmounted Democratic dissent by augmenting the bill to encompass supplementary tax credits for seniors and residents with disabilities, alongside novel sales tax exemptions for necessities such as diapers and feminine hygiene products.

This singular Missouri income tax loophole emerges as at least eight other states with Republican-controlled legislatures have enacted more conventional income tax reductions this year, echoing concurrent deliberations in Congress regarding the reauthorization and expansion of income tax deductions initially established during President Donald Trump’s nascent tenure.

キャピタルゲイン税とは、資産の売却や譲渡に伴い実現される収益、すなわちキャピタルゲインに対して課される租税制度を指称する概念である。

Capital gains represent the accrual derived from the disposition of assets, encompassing but not limited to equities, cryptocurrencies, and real property; the federal government accords long-term capital gains, realized from assets held in excess of twelve months, a more favorable tax treatment relative to ordinary income.

All states that levy income tax also impose taxes on capital gains; according to the non-profit organization Tax Foundation, Missouri is currently among the 32 states and the District of Columbia that tax capital gains at the same rate as wages and other income, whereas eight states apply lower rates to capital gains than to other income.

Certain states, predominantly under Democratic stewardship, are pursuing a contrary trajectory; Maryland legislators, for instance, last month enacted a bill imposing a 2% capital gains tax on individuals with incomes exceeding $350,000, while Washington lawmakers recently sanctioned legislation levying an additional 2.9% tax on capital gains surpassing $1 million, and Minnesota already assesses a surcharge on capital gains and other investment income exceeding $1 million.

キャピタルゲイン税撤廃の論拠として、どのような点が特筆に値するでしょうか？

Proponents advocating for the abrogation of capital gains tax contend that this fiscal imposition disincentivizes investment, thereby motivating individuals to retain assets rather than divesting them to circulate capital within other sectors of the economy.

Jonathan Williams, chief economist and president of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative organisation of politicians and businesses, posited that imposing a tax on something invariably diminishes its prevalence, adding, "Naturally, the objective is to stimulate increased intra-state investment."

ALEC, having long championed the abrogation of the state's capital gains tax, found an ally in Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Chad Perkins, who avowed the genesis of this concept lay in conversations with a friend, a proprietor of an employee-owned construction firm beleaguered by fiscal exigencies; Perkins moreover posited his legislative proposal would confer ancillary benefits upon family-owned agrarian enterprises seeking to divest themselves of real property holdings.

"The capital gains tax engenders a confluence of deleterious effects: the forfeiture of economic opportunities, financial inertia, and the attenuation of wages—all of which collectively serve to erode Missouri's competitive standing both domestically and in the international arena," articulated State Senator Curtis Trent, the Republican legislator who shepherded the bill through the upper chamber.

Who stands to benefit from the abrogation of this tax regime?

Critics posit that the greatest emoluments accrue to the affluent.

Sam Waxman, the Deputy Director of State Policy Research at the center-left Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, posited that the abrogation of Missouri's capital gains tax would establish a 'disquieting precedent' nationwide and 'exacerbate economic and racial disparities.'

A governmental inquiry has brought to light a disparity wherein Caucasian households exhibit a greater propensity to declare capital gains compared to certain ethnic minorities. A 2023 report from the U.S. Treasury further substantiates this, indicating that among middle-income filers, merely around 8% of white households, a meager 3% of Black households, and a negligible 1% of Hispanic households reaped the advantages of federal tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

According to the Missouri Budget Project, a non-profit research collective vehemently opposing the abolition of the capital gains tax, a mere fifth of all filers in Missouri, approximately 542,000 individual income taxpayers, reported capital gains in 2022; the group extrapolates that 80% of prospective tax relief would accrue to the wealthiest 5% of taxpayers.

キャピタルゲイン税の撤廃がもたらす財政的影響は、具体的にどの程度の規模と推計されるのでしょうか？

According to legislative scholars, the prospective elimination of Missouri's capital gains tax is projected to incur an annual fiscal burden upon the state coffers approximating $262 million, assuming its comprehensive enactment; nonetheless, the veracity of this estimation remains a contentious point of contention between proponents and detractors.

The Missouri Budget Project conjectures the outlay may well burgeon to the tune of roughly $600 million annually.

Mr. Torrent prognosticates the abolition of taxation will engender augmented economic expansion, thus ultimately redounding to heightened fiscal receipts.

Professor Owen Zidar, a luminary in the fields of economics and public policy at Princeton University, meticulously investigated the ramifications of 584 distinct alterations in state-level capital gains tax rates over the preceding four decades, positing that while reductions in said tax may ostensibly incentivize asset divestiture for pecuniary gain, this effect remains demonstrably insufficient to countervail the resultant diminution in fiscal revenue.

Mr. Gidard regards as dubious the contention that the repeal of Missouri's capital gains tax would precipitate a significant influx of investment and economic dynamism.

He posited that it would precipitate a substantial diminution in fiscal revenue.