Well, well, well, look at my shocked face as Kamala Harris talks about a plan to tax unrealized capital gains and increase the corporate tax rate. “Harris supports the tax increases put forth by Biden in his recent budget proposal. This, according to the Harris’ campaign, includes a 25% tax on unrealized capital gains for individuals with more than $100 million in wealth; and an increased corporate tax rate between 21% and 28%.” I have to say anytime I see a politician say only soak the rich, I must laugh, we have seen this dog and pony show before. Now will this ever happen, probably not, but the idea is ludicrous. If implemented trust me, it will impact even the little guy like you and me, make no mistake on that. It is theft, a simple money grab to prevent you from becoming wealthy or passing on wealth to your beneficiaries. The unrealized gain measure would have you pay taxes on the increased value of assets like your stock portfolio or your home, even if you did not sell it. Taxing unrealized capital gains is a violation of private property rights and would force people to sell their assets to raise funds to pay the tax. What if the value of the asset goes down later, do you get a refund or a tax credit? Yeah right. Implementing a tax on unrealized capital gains would mean that the government and not the free market would determine the value of your assets.
An unrealized capital gain tax could mean:
- Lower investment in the economy, leading to slower economic growth, which could impact job creation and innovation.
- Discouraging entrepreneurial activity as entrepreneurs would not be able to pay tax on asset value gains on paper.
- Discouraging saving and investing as there could be penalties for holding assets; investments would be in short-term projects or spending now instead of allocating funds to drive investment and growth.
- Reducing wealth inequality (make everyone the same), by making hardworking, thrifty, and wise investors poorer, which is what the leftists want.
I must lead off with this epic link:
Experts react to Harris’ plan to tax unrealized capital gains: ‘Voodoo economics’
A bad idea back in the day and a bad idea now, even National Review agreed.
Taxing Unrealized Capital Gains Is a Nutty Idea
Why Democrats’ Scheme to Tax Unrealized Capital Gains Should Terrify You
Siberhusk