Investors sitting on stocks they intend to sell should consider executing the sale as soon as possible. There has been some speculation that the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, may decide to raise the 20 per cent rate of capital gains tax in the December 2nd Budget. While this would represent a surprising move - the new rate having just been introduced last year - advisers suggest that investors planning to sell in the near future should act with some haste to close sale contracts before Budget Day.