McCain for Permanent Cap Gains Cut

McCain going for the investor class--100 million Americans, the ownership society. Political Radar:

John McCain altered his tax plan Friday, saying for the first time that he would like to slash capital gains taxes in half on a permanent basis -- not just for the next two years.

"Look," McCain told CNBC's Larry Kudlow, "I'm at 7.5 percent, I'd like to keep it permanently at 7.5 percent."

Watch it here.

Originally, McCain wanted to maintain the current 15 percent tax rate on long-term capital gains.

Seventeen days ago, as part of his "Pension and Family Security Plan," he proposed reducing the capital gains tax rate to 7.5 percent for the next two years.

McCain is now calling for permanently reducing the capital gains rate to 7.5 percent, according to McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.

The Arizona senator told CNBC that he wants to lower capital gains taxes and keep them low to encourage investment in difficult economic times.