Excise taxes and sales taxes both generate government revenue, but they work in fundamentally different ways. Sales taxes apply broadly to most retail purchases at a uniform percentage rate, appearing as a line item at checkout. Excise taxes, by contrast, target specific goods, like gasoline, tobacco and alcohol, and are…

Key takeaways You may owe capital gains tax on any realized gain on the sale of an asset, but not on unrealized capital gains. Long-term capital gains — that is, on assets held for a year or longer — are taxed at a 0%, 15% or 20% rate, depending on…

kate_sept2004/Getty Images S&P 500 index funds allow you to invest in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, a collection of stocks that includes the largest and most successful companies in the U.S. The S&P 500 index has returned an average of about 10% annually over time. Here are seven of…