April 6, 2004 Letter to Senators Warner and Allen
and Representative Moran
and Representative Moran
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, VA 22306-8208
April 6, 2004
The Honorable John William Warner
United States Senate
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4601
The Honorable George F. Allen
United States Senate
204 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4604
The Honorable James P. Moran
U.S House of Representatives
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-4608
As Congress debates changes to the regulatory structure of mutual funds, I urge you to start the reform process by removing unnecessary taxes on mutual fund investors. Current tax rules require long term investors to pay taxes on capital gains that are redistributed back into investing. The investor did not take any action, yet is forced to pay taxes on this reinvestment of gains. This unneeded tax law is resulting in fewer gains for investors, inhibiting long term investment, and ultimately undermining economic growth.
As your constituent, I urge you to support H.R. 1989 sponsored by Paul Ryan. This legislation fixes the problem by permitting fund investors to defer tax on mutual fund capital gain distributions that are automatically reinvested in the fund. Investment gains will be taxed when the investors sell their shares in the fund which is the time when an investor who holds stock directly is taxed. There should be no difference when investors are taxed.
With the recent scandals involving mutual funds, you can show your support for mutual fund shareholders by finally removing this discriminatory and unneeded tax.
Please support H.R. 1989.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
July 15, 2004
Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208
Dear Mr. Landrith:
Thank you for contacting my office to share your comments in favor of legislation to reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes. I appreciate your thoughtful inquiry.
I will take into consideration the recommendations you have made regarding tax reform. Fundamental tax reform remains a Congressional priority. I believe that in combination with tax relief, we need to simplify our tax code. A complicated tax code is difficult and expensive to enforce, and further strains the relationship between the government and taxpayers.
There are many factors that must be considered in regards to your particular situation, and you may wish to contact the Internal Revenue Service for more details at 1-800-829-1040 or via the World Wide Web at: http://www.irs.gov.
In the coming months, Congress may take up additional tax legislation. Please be assured that I will keep your comments in mind should this come before the full Senate. Again, I appreciate that you have brought your concerns to my attention on this important issue. If my office can be of assistance in any matter related to federal government, please do no hesitate to contact me.
With kind regards, I am
Sincerely,
John Warner
JW/vas