- quote -

Since the original poster is of retirement age (> 59.5), the advantage
of the IRA is not as great as someone who is still saving. The major
advantage of an IRA is the tax-deferred growth for many years.

But you are right, the new 15% capital gains and dividends rates
muddle things a little.

On Sat, 7 Feb 2004 12:25:26 CST, Rich Carreiro
<rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us> wrote:


- quote -

Good point - it's not like rocket science around here. You can
justify virtually anything simply by varying the assumptions.

And if that doesn't throw a monkey wrench into financial decisions,
there's talk now of undoing some of the tax breaks that (recently)
gave us the 15% cap gain rate.

-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

"Rich Carreiro" <rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us> wrote in message
news:m3u122oikv.fsf[at]animato.home.lan...
- quote -

I think if you're using a Roth for your tax-deferred vehicle, the subject of
tax rates on distributions is a moot point, since there is no tax on the
distributions from a Roth.

Elizabeth Richardson

"edenbrook" <edenbrook[at]mail.com> writes:

- quote -

No. The current low CG tax rates do make tax-deferred accounts
less attractive if the investor plans to hold securites that
get most of their return through capital gains.

However, no one knows if CG tax rates will remain this low, and
holding assets in a tax-deferred account allows one to swtich
investments w/o any tax drag.

You get to figure out how to balance the scales :-)

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

"Rich Carreiro" <rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us> wrote in message
news:uwu6zvka7.fsf[at]animato.arlington.ma.us...
- quote -


So what is the advantage of saving for retirement in an IRA if the bulk
of the growth occurs with capital gains? 15% tax in a regular account
seems a lot less than 25-35% tax in an IRA. Am I missing something?

edenbrook

arouth[at]radiology.umsmed.edu (zxcvar) writes:

- quote -

(1) There's no tax on sales at a gain within an IRA account.
(2) Withdrawals from IRA accounts are taxed as ordinary income,
regardless of what form the investment returns took. So
even if all your gain in your IRA was a capital gain, it'll
still be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn.

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

Greetings! Due to tax cut, the Capital Gain now is 15%. This rate is
lowest since 1941 according to page 3B in Money section in USA Today
newspaper -Friday 6th February 2004. I am 65 years old. Shall I cash
my ROLLOVER IRA's now instead of waiting for another five and half
years? I have a suspicion that Capital Gain will go up in next 5 to 10
years. What is your opinion? Where can I find more information? With
thanks.