A few days after the election President Bush made it clear he sees no reason to back down on any of his promises—including the one to make his tax cuts permanent. Yet Bush's resoluteness aside, there are people like Robert Gordon, president of investment firm Twenty-First Securities, musing that when it comes to taxes, the news from now on is likely to be unpleasant. "I wish there were a derivatives market in tax rates. I'd buy higher rates and make a fortune," says Gordon. It will take some time, he says, "but tax rates will go up. The question is not if, but when." The current 15% top tax on dividends and long-term capital gains is the lowest for gains since 1933 and the lowest for dividends since 1916. The 35% top rate on salary and other ordinary income is well below its historic average.
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