The second difference has to do with the tax treatment of capital gains. In the United Kingdom, the system is simple: Investors only pay capital gains tax when they sell their shares in a fund. In the United States, however, investors face an additional form of capital gains tax. . mutual funds must distribute net capital gains realized by the fund, and when they do so, their investors are liable for tax on these distributions. While existing investors prefer their fund managers to defer realization of capital gains, the resulting tax overhang is likely to deter new investors (Barclay et al. (1998)). . investors therefore face a simpler.
