if not done away with altogether. Why should someone have to pay taxes on something solely because it's value went up due to inflation? Suppose you bought an investment for $1000 in 1990 and sold it for $2000 today. Under current law, you'd be taxed 15% on the $1000 gain. However, according to the Inflation Calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, that $1000 in 1990 has the same buying power as $1415.46 today, so your actual gain was $584.54, making your tax liability $87.68.

The effects get even more pronounced on longer held investments. Suppose you bought that $1000 investment in 1980 and sold it for $2000 today (a return of 3% for 23 years). The inflation adjusted value of that $1000 would've been $2245.15, so you wouldn't have any true gains at all. Why should people have to pay capital gains tax when there was no true gain?

Of course, like the Flat Tax, it's an idea that probably won't happen anytime soon, if ever.