Institute Testifies on IRA Expansion and Average Cost Basis Provisions in President's Budget

Washington, DC, April 10, 1997 - On April 2, the Institute submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee on the IRA expansion provisions in the President's budget and on other IRA proposals. The Institute stressed the mutual fund industry's primary focus on assisting Americans to invest for the long-term. Noting that a simple, universal IRA effectively encourages people to save for retirement, the Institute recommended that the Congress make a simple and permanent IRA available in as broad a form as possible.

Additionally, in late March, the Institute presented testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee on the revenue raising provisions in the President's Fiscal Year 1998 budget proposal. Among other things, the Institute opposed requiring taxpayers to use the average cost basis method in determining capital gains.