In this REVIEW some years ago, Edwin Elton and Martin Gruber (1970) used the concepts of market equilibrium and differential tax rates between capital gains and dividend income to structure a theoretical model which they then used empirically to estimate marginal stockholder tax rates. Their specification of an equilibrium condition is appropriate for a security seller who qualifies for preferential tax treatment of capital gains. However, their assumption that such a stockholder is the marginal stockholder in a market equilibrium is questionable. This assumption, along with disregard of transactions and other costs, is essential to their empirical derivation of stockholder tax rates. This note presents an alternative explanation of their empirical results.

The January effect is primarily a low-share price effect and less so a market value effect. In the recent 1977-86 period, after-transaction-cost raw and excess January returns are lower on low-price stocks than on high-price stocks. Failure of informed traders to eliminate significantly large before-transaction-cost excess January returns on low-price stocks is potentially explained by higher transactions costs and a bid-ask bias. At the least, the January anomaly found in prior tests is not persistent and, thereby, not likely to be exploitable by typical investors.

The January effect is primarily a low‐share price effect and less so a market value effect. In the recent 1977–1986 period, after‐transaction‐cost raw and excess January returns are lower on low‐price stocks than on high‐price stocks. Failure of informed traders to eliminate significantly large before‐transaction‐cost excess January returns on low‐price stocks is potentially explained by higher transaction costs and a bid‐ask bias. At the least, the January anomaly found in prior tests is not persistent, and thereby, not likely to be exploitable by typical investors.