During an interview with ETF TV host Deborah Fuhr at the ICI ETF Conference in Nashville, ICI President and CEO Eric Pan called for reforms to the taxation of U.S. mutual funds and defended the tax efficiency of ETFs.
Pan highlighted that mutual fund investors can receive annual capital gains tax bills even when they have not sold their investments, while ETF investors generally defer taxes until they sell their holdings. He argued that the current mutual fund tax treatment can discourage long-term saving and investing.
Pan expressed support for the proposed Growth Act, legislation that would modernize mutual fund taxation, while acknowledging the challenges of advancing tax reform amid federal budget concerns.
He also pushed back against proposals to alter ETF taxation, emphasizing that ETF investors are not avoiding taxes but simply paying them when gains are realized.
“Tax…
