Question

uses of resources with short term versus long term gains

Answer 1

shot-term capital---- gains do not benefit from any special tax rate – they are taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income. For 2017, ordinary tax rates range from 10 percent to 39.6 percent, depending on your total taxable income.

Long-term capital gains

If you can manage to hold your assets for longer than a year, you can benefit from a reduced tax rate on your profits. For 2017, the long-term capital gains tax rates are 0, 15, and 20 percent for most taxpayers. If your ordinary tax rate is already less than 15 percent, you could qualify for the zero percent long-term capital gains rate. For high-income taxpayers, the capital gains rate could save as much as 19.6 percent off the ordinary income rate.