A bill that would allow fund shareholders to reinvest capital gains distributions made by funds without owing income taxes is making reappearance. The legislation, which died in the Senate last year, is sponsored by Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota) and Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky).

The bill is the Senate version of a House bill (H.R. 2121) introduced earlier this year.

The Generating Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding (GROWTH) Act bill is an attempt to rectify what the Senators term as an "unfairness in the tax code that makes saving difficult for middle-income Americans." Under the legislation, shareholders would only owe capital gains taxes when they sold fund shares.

The issue has gained traction as fund investors have discovered they owe income taxes on funds despite not having sold shares and in some cases having suffered losses as the fund NAVs have dropped. The tax liabilities are created when funds pass through capital gains from stocks in their portfolios to shareholders.

"The government needs to do more to help Americans prepare for retirement and the tax code should help, not hinder, the process," said Crapo, who is a member of both the Senate Finance and Banking Committees. "American families have historically low savings rates. The GROWTH Act provides a better tool to grow long-term retirement investments and this bipartisan legislation will be a step in doing everything we can to promote sound investing and preparation for retirement savings."

"This bill will encourage workers to automatically reinvest and get workers to think about the long haul by contributing to national savings and building up their own retirement nest egg," added Senator Johnson, a member of the Senate Banking Committee.  

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