The GROWTH Act
Background
Under present law, mutual funds are required to distribute their net capital gains to fund shareholders at least once a year. Mutual fund investors typically choose to reinvest capital gain distributions automatically. Investors with taxable accounts are required to pay taxes on these capital gain distributions, even if they don’t sell their fund shares.
Legislation known as the Generate Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding Act of 2009 (“the GROWTH Act”) would address this problem by deferring tax on automatically reinvested capital gain distributions until fund shares are sold. Under the GROWTH Act, the reinvested gains would compound, untaxed, in the fund, and an investor would pay tax on the fund’s gains only when the investor decided to redeem the shares and incur the gain. By reducing current tax bills and allowing earnings to grow tax-deferred, the GROWTH Act would boost long-term savings.
GROWTH Act legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Artur Davis (D-AL), and Joe Crowley (D-NY), and in the U.S. Senate by Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Tim Johnson (D-SD).
ICI Position
ICI supports and urges the passage of the GROWTH Act, which will encourage savings by allowing mutual fund shareholders to keep more of their own money working for them longer by deferring capital gains taxes until they actually sell their investment. The legislation provides a sensible way for millions of Americans to create a more secure financial future for themselves and their families.
Resources: The GROWTH Act
- Morningstar: It’s Time for Mutual Funds to Join the 21st Century...in the Tax Code, That Is (commentary) May 13, 2010
- ICI Submits Statement on Tax Reform to President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board Oct 20, 2009
- MarketWatch: Mutual Fund Shareholders Should Protest Unfair Taxation (commentary) Aug 31, 2009
- ICI Supports Bipartisan House Bill That Boosts Investors’ Ability to Meet Their Savings Goals Jul 31, 2009
- The GROWTH Act, as Introduced in U.S. House Jul 31, 2009
- ICI Supports Bipartisan Bill That Allows Investors to Build Retirement and Personal Savings May 21, 2009
Send a Message to Congress
Tell your representatives in the U.S. Congress that you support the GROWTH Act.
