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The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States 

The White House 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 

Washington, DC 20500 

 

Dear Mr. President:

We urge you to utilize your executive authority to remove the inflation tax on savings and

investment by indexing the calculation of capital gains taxes to inflation.

We represent a broad cross-section of conservative, free-market, pro-business, and pro-family

organizations that were very supportive of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Ending the

inflation tax will build on the success of that law and deliver a booster shot to economic

growth and the stock market.

When a family or a business saves money and buys a stock, real estate, or any other asset, the

investment grows in value over time. Some of that growth is due to the asset appreciating in

real terms, and some of that growth is merely due to the effect of inflation making everything

more expensive.

Our tax system does not distinguish between these two increases in savings – the economic

growth increase, and the merely inflationary increase. The whole gain is taxable. According to

the non-partisan Tax Foundation, fully one-third of all unrealized capital gains are due only to

inflation.

According to legal scholarship going back decades, the executive branch can define cost basis

in an investment in such a way that the inflation tax on savings can be eliminated. Rather than

having to pay tax on both real and inflationary gains, a family or business selling an asset

would only pay tax on the real gain, or the gain derived from economic growth.

This policy is a simple matter of fairness. American families and job creators should not have

to pay taxes on phantom income. Our tax brackets are indexed to inflation for a reason–we

don't think a worker who gets a raise that barely keeps pace with inflation should face a tax

increase. The same principle should apply to savings.

We believe taking inflation out of the tax on savings will be welcomed by investors and will

boost the stock market given that a cut in the tax rate on investment was not a part of tax

reform.

Taking bold executive action now–without having to go to Congress–will restore confidence

in financial markets and help bolster every 401(k), IRA, and 529 plan in America. It completes

the unfinished promise of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Just as tax reform resulted in the repatriation of hundreds of billions of dollars overseas to be

reinvested here in America, ending the inflation tax on savings will result in hundreds of

billions of dollars in unlocked investments, with the resulting capital reallocated more

efficiently. The result will be more jobs created and faster economic growth.

With a divided Congress, any effort to pass Tax Reform 2.0 or additional middle-class tax

reduction is unlikely. On the other hand, ending the inflation tax can be achieved through the

administration’s executive authority.

We urge you to swiftly use this authority and stand ready to work with you and your team to

achieve this tax cut for the American people.

Sincerely,

Grover Norquist

President, Americans for Tax Reform

James L. Martin

Founder/Chairman, 60 Plus Association

Saulius “Saul” Anuzis

President, 60 Plus Association

Phil Kerpen

President, American Commitment

Matt Schlapp

Chairman, American Conservative Union

Steve Pociask

President / CEO, The American Consumer Institute

Lisa B. Nelson

CEO, ALEC Action

Chip Rogers

President and CEO, AAHOA

Dan Weber

President, Association of Mature American Citizens

Norm Singleton

President, Campaign for Liberty

Bob Carlstrom

President, The Carlstrom Group

Andrew F. Quinlan

President, Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Ryan Ellis

President, Center for a Free Economy

Jeffrey Mazzella

President, Center for Individual Freedom

Olivia Grady

Senior Fellow, Center for Worker Freedom

Tom Schatz

President, Citizens Against Government Waste

Chuck Muth

President, Citizen Outreach (Nevada)

David McIntosh

President, Club for Growth

Matthew Kandrach

President, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy

Katie McAuliffe

Executive Director, Digital Liberty

Palmer Schoening

President, Family Business Coalition

Rick Watson

Co-Chair, Florida Center-Right Coalition

Adam Brandon

President and CEO, FreedomWorks

George Landrith

President, Frontiers of Freedom

Tim Huelskamp, Ph.D.

President and CEO, The Heartland Institute

Rodolfo E. Milani

Trustee, Hispanic American Center for Economic Research (HACER.org)

Mario H. Lopez

President, Hispanic Leadership Fund

Andrew Langer

President, Institute for Liberty

Tom Giovanetti

President, Institute for Policy Innovation

Heather R. Higgins

CEO, Independent Women’s Voice

Sal Nuzzo

Vice President of Policy, The James Madison Institute

Seton Motley

President, Less Government

Charles Sauer

President, Market Institute

Ted Tripp

Chair, Massachusetts Center-right Coalition

Jameson Taylor, Ph.D.

Vice President for Policy, Mississippi Center for Public Policy

Tim Jones

Fmr. Speaker, Missouri House

Chair, Missouri Center-Right Coalition

Kurt Zellers

Chair, Minnesota Center-Right Coalition

Jake Eaton

Chair, Montana Center-Right Coalition

Pete Sepp

President, National Taxpayers Union

Stephen Stepanek

Former Chairman, New Hampshire House Ways & Means Committee

Co-Chair, New Hampshire Center-right Meeting

Jack Boyle

Executive Director, Ohioans for Tax Reform

Jordan Harris

Executive Director, Pegasus Institute

Lorenzo Montanari

Executive Director, Property Rights Alliance

Charlie Gerow

CEO, Quantum Communications

Derrick Hollie

President, Reaching America

Mike Stenhouse

CEO, Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Paul Gessing

President, Rio Grande Foundation (New Mexico)

Karen Kerrigan

President & CEO, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

David Williams

President, Taxpayer Protection Alliance

Jenny Beth Martin

Honorary Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Action

Tom Zawistowski

President, We the People Convention