Every so often, I review my past Congressional Financial Wish List, both to see what happened since my last review, as well as to see what could be improved. Given political changes since my 2019 update, it seemed like a perfect time to review and update my list. Here’s what I found:
- Wish # 1 – Freeze personal income tax rates, which were lowered in 2018, to avoid reverting to the old (higher) rates after the year 2025
- Wish # 2 – Reduce Capital Gains tax rates, which were not modified in the past Administration (much to my dismay)
- Wish # 3 – Dramatically increase annual contribution limits for IRAs, which are currently only adjusted for (understated) inflation
- Wish # 4 - Repeal all Estate Taxes (“Death Taxes”) and Gift Taxes
- Wish # 5 - Eliminate the “progressive” income tax on Social Security Benefits, currently taxed up to 85%
- Wish # 6 – Eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which was eliminated for corporations, but not for individuals
- Wish # 7 – Raise (further) the age for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from all Retirement Accounts
- Wish # 8 - Make permanent the limited “above-the-line” deduction for charitable contributions, which currently stands at $300 per person
- Wish #9 – Index Capital Gains for inflation to avoid taxation on purely inflationary gains
- Wish #10 – Restore the tax deduction for fees paid to financial advisors, which was eliminated (in my estimation) discriminatorily
We could go on ad nauseum, adding such items as the implementation of the FairTax. However, restricting this discussion to reasonable probabilities is difficult enough. In our current (revenue-hungry) Administration, we see little likelihood for positive change, except, perhaps, for #7 and #8. Worse yet, we are likely to lose ground, especially on #2.
Maybe it will help if I send a copy of my list to the North Pole.
Van Wie Financial is fee-only. For a reason.
