Stock-Market Surge Juices Federal Tax Receipts

Tariffs are rolling into the Treasury, but there is another source of rising revenue that is proving to be just as important: the stock market. On returns for tax year 2024 filed through mid-July, taxpayers reported $530 billion in net capital gains, up 65% from the prior year, according to new Internal Revenue Service data. The full effect of that on collections isn’t clear yet because of varying tax rates and returns that are still arriving, but there are strong signs that equity-market gains are turning into rising federal revenue. Individual income-tax payments outside of paycheck withholding—a category that includes...