The current 15% rate on dividends (also on capital gains) applies only to holdings in taxable accounts and not 401(k)s or IRAs. 30% of households own some stock in taxable accounts, but that ownership of stock in these accounts is much more prevalent among high-income households than among low- and moderate-income households.
Over half — 54 percent — of all taxable capital gain and dividend income flows to the 0.2 percent of households with annual incomes over $1 million. More than three-quarters — 78 percent — of this income goes to those households with income over $200,000, which account for about 3 percent of all households.
In contrast, only 11 percent of taxable capital gain and dividend income goes to the 86 percent of households with incomes of less than $100,000. Only 4 percent of this income flows to the 64 percent of households that have income of less than $50,000.
For those making less than $100,000, taxable capital gains and dividend income makes up an average of 1.4 percent of total income. For those making over $100,000, this income accounts for 12.2 percent of total income on average; for those making over $1 million, the share rises to an average of 31.4 percent.
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=1008The current 15% capital gain and dividend rate is probably the most unfair of all the George W. Bush giveaways to his wealthy benefactors.