by KYW's Salil Gutt

Income oriented investors have noticed that CD rates have fallen substantially. Yields on other fixed income instruments have also declined. Here's an investment idea that gives you a tax break on the income and growth in value.

Consider dividend paying stocks in general and in particular on companies that raise their dividends regularly every year.

For instance, there are many companies in the financial sector where you can lock in a dividend exceeding 5%. The stock prices of these companies have also been battered making them good investment values in the long run.

Additionally, many well run companies have increased dividends every year for decades.

One powerful advantage here is these dividends are called qualified dividends which means they are taxed at a rate of 15% compared to the highest possible tax rate of 35% on interest income.

If you are queasy about picking individual stocks there are dividend growth funds at Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price that will work just as well.