[Retric]

> it's whether they want to invest it or spend it to begin with.

Again deferring that choice isn’t making an investment. A jeweler buying 1kg of gold doesn’t need to be making a productive investment to claim they are.

Thus creating an incentive to tie up productive assets for tax reasons rather than maximizing total efficiency.

> Loans are often used

We can get into all kinds of game people pay with loans and the tax code but that’s irrelevant here.

My initial point is someone can’t invest all their assets as you previously claimed people could via loans which is a silly tangent because that cash is investable. Which means both investing and spending money occurs when anyone is investing and thus deferred capital gains are simply a handout. Zero net gain for society lots of gains for the people getting the handout.