Taxing capital gains - views from Australia, Canada and the United States

This paper analyses a series of interviews, undertaken in Australia, Canada and the United States, with capital gains tax (CGT) experts on the preferential taxation of individual capital gains. The interviews explored their views on the taxation of capital gains in their jurisdictions. The interviewees were from academia, government advisory organisations and private practice. This paper focuses on two thematic areas covered in the interviews: the level of convergence or divergence of the experts’ views on the benefits, disadvantages and need for CGT rate preferences and the experts’ views on how the individual CGT should be reformed.