A cornerstone of Kamala Harris’ tax policy was taken to the woodshed on CNBC this week, where the vice president’s economic adviser, Bharat Ramamurti, tried to spin the massive increase in taxing “unrealized gains.” Both hosts torched the plan, warning it would lead to economic ruin. You can hear the contempt from host Joe Kernen in the audio, where he flatly says such a tax would be unconstitutional.
Ramamurti tried to act clever and say that what Harris was proposing was no different than a property tax, which the hosts tore apart in seconds, adding that that’s a use tax. Also, they’ve heard this talking point before regarding the ‘death to America’ tax—we should call it for what it is. Here’s a clip of the drubbing:
NEW: CNBC host Joe Kernen rolls his eyes and laughs after Harris’ economic advisor Bharat Rama tries arguing in favor of Harris’ unrealized capital gains tax.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 28, 2024
Rama sat in silence as the hosts poked fun after he tried saying that property tax was an unrealized gains tax.
“It’s… pic.twitter.com/lK4jGL6phz
Kamala Harris's team is stone cold moronic: https://t.co/FjjSi8Dcdd
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) August 28, 2024
Cato had a good summary on taxing unrealized gains and how this is the mother lode of bad ideas:
The Harris plan includes a new minimum tax of 25 percent on traditional income and unrealized capital gains for taxpayers with more than $100 million in total wealth. While ostensibly limited by a high net-worth threshold, such a tax would be economically destructive and administratively unworkable—not to mention unconstitutional.
What’s wrong with taxing unrealized gains? The core problem with taxing unrealized gains is that there is not actually anything to tax until the asset is sold for a profit. For example, if I purchase a house for $400,000 and it appreciates by $50,000 the following year—an unrealized gains tax at 25 percent would mean I owe the government $12,500, regardless of whether I sell the house or have the cash on hand to pay the bill.
If you don’t have the cash, such a system would force you to sell your home or take out a loan to pay the government. Levying a tax on someone’s projected future income before they have full claim to it themselves also raises deeper questions about individual property rights, financial privacy, and due process.
One way to stop this is by voting for Donald J. Trump on Election Day. This tax is an atrocious idea, up there with Harris’ plan to enact price fixes.
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