President Obama wants to increase the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 20 percent for individuals earning more than $250,000 per year. This could bring in $240 billion over a decade, but if no agreement can be reached to avoid the fiscal cliff and the Bush tax cuts expire, the tax rate would be even more. To beat the deadline, companies have started paying dividends early. It's speculated that George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney to realize the capital gains in 2012. Had the deal happened in 2013, it's estimated the higher tax rate would have cost Lucas $400 million more.
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