Wall Street and the business world both shuddered when news first dropped of President Joe Biden's proposed capital gains tax hike, yet, the fear may not be entirely warranted. According to figures from experts, markets likely won't be affected too heavily, and most Americans don't meet the threshold to be affected.
As President Biden prepares to pitch a capital gains tax increase to Congress, many Americans, especially investors and executives, are curious, and for some, a little bit scared, of what the proposal means. It certainly doesn't help that the already politically charged, polarized state of discourse in the U.S. has led to many fiery op-eds and social media arguments on both sides of the aisle as the news cycle processes the coming proposal.
Unless you're the top 0.3% richest in the United States, breath a sigh of relief, Biden's proposed increases don't affect you at all. Investors, however, do have a bit more to be worried about, as more than 0.3% will be affected.
According to a note released by UBS Research, only about three-quarters of investors will be directly affected. Retirement assets such as IRAs and 401(k)s are safe (you're still expected to pay any regular taxes, of course), as are endowments and any assets held by foreign investors. As for the rest, only investors whose income exceeds $1 million yearly really have to worry.
As for market health, this isn't the first time Wall Street has had to deal with a capital gains tax hike, and if precedent stands, the market will be fine. In the past, each time the market has had to contend with a capital gains tax hike (the most recent being in 2013), Wall Street is typically plagued by panicked selloffs, only for the market to surge after once calmer heads prevail and investors capitalize on the selloff with a subsequent buying frenzy.
Like Jim Cramer, some analysts see the current fear-based market activity as unfounded and potentially lucrative.
"Be ready to buy stocks that are getting crushed by tax fears that have nothing to do with the fundamentals and watch for stocks with good yields if you're desperate for tax-efficient income," Cramer said.