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Is there a change in the long term capital gains tax this year or next year.  I have a large capital gain in a Fidelity  fund I invested in several years ago.  I also have some losses I plan on using for tax purpose.  I can use these to offset each other but I was wondering about tax law changes.  Thank you  Bob Harwell

Bob,

You won't see any change in the 15 percent rate this year. But next year is another matter. If Obama is elected and the democrats sweep the house and senate, we could very likely see quick action to raise taxes on both capital gains and dividends. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the misery we're seeing in the stock market is a direct result of anticipatory selling. Lot of people have some handsome long term gains and will sell to realize them at the lowest tax rate we're likely to see. That means selling now, this year.

Scott