Hacker News Reader

> You might get a return, you might not and therefore the taxation rules should reflect that.

So... you take a loss on your taxes, probably spreading it out in some way so you don't pay taxes for a few years, if it's a serious enough loss. Right? Why does the rate need to be different?

View on HN

Probably spreading it out in some way? You must also have a have a future gain to offset that loss. The rate difference is to compensate for the risk that you are taking by investing the money. Again, as a worker you have essentially no risk of capital (only of effort).

Furthermore, I think you are misunderstanding the double taxation argument. The double taxation arises because the company has already payed tax on their profits.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com