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Wider Share
Ownership
Tax regime should
be neutral
Politicians
never stop tinkering with the tax code. Has this ever been
designated a form of obsessive behaviour by the medical community?
A case in point are the latest proposals for the taxation of
investment income and capital gains in Germany.
We do not want to go into technical details but suffice it to say
that the proposals are the result of a non-participatory form of
democracy that is prevalent in Western Europe.
So-called political elites and technocrats representing the lobbies
with an interest in the matter have produced legislation that will
be far from neutral in its effects on business and the way the
citizen invests his money.
As matters stand, investment in pooled vehicles of various kinds
will be at an advantage and investors that hold shares in individual
companies and want to manage their portfolio will be penalised.
This is contrary to the interests of wider share ownership and
shareholder democracy.
19-Jun-07
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We believe that the wider spread of share ownership is in
itself a public good and may sometimes even be preferable to higher
economic efficiency. |