Comment by triceratops
12 hours ago
This is true. I'd still file tax-loss harvesting under "advanced maneuvers employed by high net worth people".
At a societal level, and I understand this is a completely different point, I also question whether it's prudent to allow tax dodging this way. We already tax labor heavily and at the same time we incentivize companies to improve productivity (read: use less labor). How do we pay for society without taxing some of the productivity (read: profits) or taxing labor even more? You can only cut so many services.
Even folks who are just saving for retirement benefit, since they need not take any income on top of their normal employment income. They may be in a lower bracket when they sell.
Also the reality is that its somewhat rare for retirees to spend down their entire portfolios.