Are capital gains tax cuts just trickle-down Republican economics?
No. History teaches us that low capital gains taxes have had a strong cross-partisan flavor. JFK was a cap gains tax-cutter. Under FDR there was a sliding scale in which the longer you held the asset, the lower the tax faced when selling. Centrist Democrats are attracted to the concept of a rollover wherein if you reinvest, you’re not taxed but if you consume you are. That cross-partisan appeal is surfacing now. Liberal Democratic Congressman Jared Polis wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter to all of his fellow members of the House of Representatives drawing attention to my campaign to lower capital-gains tax rates. He said, “I agree with Mark Bloomfield, now is the time for optimism. With common-sense, time-tested investment tools we can ensure economic growth, job creation and restoration of our nation’s industries without endless public bailouts by rewarding private investment.” Before coming to Congress, Polis was an entrepreneur in his own right. He founded several high-tech startups,
