Taxes on Stock Gains Possible

The German government is considering taxing all stock gains, according to the German business daily Handelsblatt. According to the report, not only interest and dividends, but also stock gains would be taxable at 25 percent by 2005. So far, the latter don't get taxed if more than a year has passed between buying and selling shares. If they're sold earlier, shareholders have to pay taxes on half of the gains. The Federal Constiutional Court is currently reviewing a case in which the plaintiff deems the tax to be unconstitutional. He claims that the internal revenue service has no way of checking whether tax declarations are accurate, so only the honest are forced to pay the tax. Finance ministry officials said the tax law regarding stock gains needs to be reformed.