John Edwards proposes increase to capital gains tax

International Herald Tribune reports:

Calling the current U.S. tax code "badly out of whack," former Senator John Edwards has proposed increasing the capital gains tax on upper-income investors and using the money to provide tax-free savings accounts and expanded tax credits for lower-income workers.

In a speech in Des Moines, Iowa, Edwards, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, said that he would "rewrite our tax code to make sure it is fair" and that tax policy under President George W. Bush has led to "more wealth for the wealthy and more power for the powerful."

The Edwards campaign said his plan would raise the tax rate on capital gains, which are profits from investments, to 28 percent from the current 15 percent for taxpayers with incomes greater than $250,000. It would remain at 15 percent for those who earn less than $250,000.

Edwards, of North Carolina, is the first Democratic candidate to call for a broad-based increase in taxes on investment income, and his plan is in keeping with the populist tone of his campaign. On taxes, as on health care and other issues, the Edwards campaign has sought to promote him as more of a champion of the poor and the working class than Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

Edwards repeated his calls to repeal the Bush tax cuts for families with incomes greater than $200,000 and to raise taxes on hedge fund and private equity managers. And he said he would "declare war" on off-shore tax shelters and put limits on executive compensation.

Comrade Edwards sounds like a thief.Anyway,no word yet from Comrade Edwards on giving up his wealth voluntarily.