Ignore social media. Here’s what Harris’ unrealized capital gains tax proposal means for you

A tax proposal embraced by Vice President Kamala Harris that’s meant to target the wealthy is getting attention in an unlikely place for wonky policy debate: social media.

A tax proposal embraced by Vice President Kamala Harris that’s meant to target the wealthy is getting attention in an unlikely place for wonky policy debate: social media. But many posts ignore the fact that the plan would only impact those whose net worth is more than $100 million, or less than 1% of taxpayers, and falsely suggest that all homeowners should fear a new massive tax bill. One TikTok user, for example, claimed that people will “lose their homes” and that “the IRS will bankrupt them.” At issue is a proposal often referred to as a billionaire minimum tax. It would treat the increase in the value of assets – like real estate, stocks and private businesses – as taxable income each year, even if they are not sold. This is known as an unrealized capital gain. One way to think of it is as a tax on a gain, or profit, that exists only on paper. “It’s quite a transformational proposal,” said Mark Friedlich, vice president of government affairs at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting. On the campaign trail, Harris has said she supports a billionaire minimum tax. She hasn’t outlined the specifics, but the Biden-Harris administration’s most recent budget proposal lays out details.