The most powerful method to cut the cost of capital was to lower the tax rate on capital gains
and improve depreciation allowances. Entin (1991) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggested
a top capital gains rate of 15 percent for assets held one year or longer. Both recommended indexing
capital gains in order to adjust for inflation. This protected gains caused by inflation from taxation.
Another recommendation was a modification of depreciation schedules.
Investment
decisions hinged on whether or not the present value of the returns on the investment exceeded the
cost of the investment. Entin (1991) estimated a firm would be lucky if its write-offs for equipment
spending averaged 85 percent of its costs--the end result being costs to business due to over-taxation.
To eliminate this, he suggested increasing capital consumption allowances until their present value
was equal to writing off (expensing) the entire investment in the first year. Entin (1991) placed the
value on such a change as equivalent to a five percent investment tax credit. Entin (1991) estimated
that enhanced depreciation schedules, distributed over the lifetime of the capital assets so as to cost
nothing over the five-year federal budget period, could still boost incentive and add billions of
dollars in investment.