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long-term capital gain taxes on etfs?
user
generally, etfs and mutual funds don't pay taxes (although there are some cases where they do, and some countries where it is a common case). what happens is, the fund reports the portion of the gain attributed to each investor, and the investor pays the tax. in the us, this is reported to you on 1099-div as capital gains distribution, and can be either short term (as in the scenario you described), long term, or a mix of both. it doesn't mean you actually get a distribution, though, but if you don't - it reduces your basis.
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