Dear Congressman – capital gains tax kills jobs

Some or all of these jobs are created by a property sale.
Jobs for:

The property appraiser.
The property inspector.
The property listing agent.
The property Title company.
The property advertising companies.
The property buyer’s agent.
The insurance agent.

And if the property needs improvement then these jobs can be created for:

The painter.
The gardner.
The gutter guy.
The window company.
The screen company.
The pressure washer company.
The carpet layer.
The carpet company.
The carpet cleaner.
The drapery company.
The driveway asphalt company.
The hardware supply company.

Obviously, the more often properties are bought and sold, the more jobs are created.
And more tax revenue is generated.

Congress killed the incentive to sell a property when it imposed it’s “capital gains” tax change on small rental home owners
How is that so?

A few years ago a small rental home landlord could make the rental property into their personal home. Then live in that home for a minimum of two years.
After two years, the owner could sell it and not have to pay a capital gains tax*.

Many small rental home landlords have used that tax strategy.  After the rental sale many plan to reinvest the “profit”  in “income generating” investments for retirement.

None-the-less, Congress wants that tax no matter what, don’t they?

But small rental home  “profit” after capital gains is too small to reinvest in anything that can provide retirement income equal to what the rental income makes.
The smart decision for the landlord is to simply keep the small rental properties – not to sell them.

Result:
The tax man gets nothing.
The small contractors get nothing.
Congress gets the blame.
And everybody’s unhappy.

Writing a simple capital gains tax grab law is dumb stupid.
Writing law tax law that promotes or incentivizes trade is smart.
Apparently, that is beyond the ability of Congress?

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* When you sell your primary residence, you can make up to $250,000 in profit if you’re a single owner, twice that if you’re married, and not owe any capital gains taxes.