By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
Got stocks, land or similar investments?
The state House voted 35-25 Wednesday to give you a tax break when you sell those items.
But how much you will pocket depends, quite frankly, on how much you make. And the 183 richest Arizonans — those making more than $5 million a year — will each walk away with an average of an extra $27,000.
At issue are capital gains. That’s the difference between what people pay for an investment against what they make when it is sold.
By state law, the profits on anything held for less than a year are taxed as regular income. But long-term gains — investments held for more than a year — are subject to a 25 percent discount when computing state income taxes.
What the House approved Wednesday as HB 2528 would increase that deduction, in steps, to 50 percent.
