Payton - I think you'll get a lot of people who say yes they would back out of dividend plays and others who would not. Simply - the change in tax rate creates an unknown. And it's a lot bigger than the tax rate itself. What does it do to stock prices? Would they drop, creating capital decay at least on the short term and therefore a lot of nervous investors? Keep in mind there is a large portion of these dividend stocks owned in tax-deferred accounts. And, that many people have them simply reinvested. While there is power in numbers, the people living off the income stream are the big dogs - and they can have a significant impact on the situation (and in some cases may influence the companies themselves). From the investing standpoint, I'd much rather pay 1-2% more in income tax the see these big changes on capital gains / dividends. That's just me thinking that long term - I want this income stream to be available and significant enough to make a difference when I'm retired. 25 years from now (if I'm lucky), the 1-2% I pay now in extra income tax would have been long forgotten about. Just my humble, semi-ignorant opinion.
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