Vice President Kamala Harris proposed increasing the long-term capital gains tax rate to 28% for wealthy Americans during an economic speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday, breaking with the policy laid out by President Joe Biden in his 2025 budget by suggesting a lower rate.

The current long-term capital gains tax rate – 20%, plus an additional 3.8% tax on higher earners – is paid when an investment is sold, or gains are realized. The Biden budget proposes raising that rate to the top rate he wants to levy on ordinary income – 39.6% – for households with taxable income over $1 million. Harris, the people familiar with the matter say, believes 39.6% is too high.

While Harris still supports taxing the wealthiest individuals and corporations at higher rates – as Biden’s budget also calls for – she believes that a lower capital gains rate would incentivize investors to put more money into startups and small businesses. She has also proposed increasing the corporate tax rate to 28%, up from the current 21% rate set by Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

  • originalucifer
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    1012 months ago

    Harris, the people familiar with the matter say, believes 39.6% is too high.

    for people already millionaires.

    hey dems, you know why regular people hate you? this is why you conservative fucks

    • @Lemming6969@lemmy.world
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      182 months ago

      Long term capital gains isn’t as big a problem as asset backed borrowing which needs to be fixed. No point in cranking realized gains that hard when unrealized loopholes are far worse and don’t affect venture capital the same.

    • Optional
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      2 months ago

      True - but understand - this is exactly what corporate news is trying to elicit. They’ve been trying things and waiting for the time to pounce to separate Harris from her momentum.

      CNN, remember, is the new Fox News.

      This is the latest. They know it’s going to work. When it does expect to see it more in other outlets.

      • @goferking0
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        72 months ago

        By her saying she’s not raising taxes high enough on the extremely wealthy?

      • @macattack@lemmy.world
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        52 months ago

        So would you prefer the capital tax rate is lower or that CNN didn’t report it?

        As someone voting for Dems, I’m still confused why progressive policies are becoming more moderate

    • @hitmyspot@aussie.zone
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      62 months ago

      That and because the republicans will keep claiming they want to raise taxes and peopke dont like being taxed. Does it matter that its a tax increase that only affects the wealthy? No, as they too are a temporarily embarrassed millionaire.

      I do agree that capital income and earned income should be treated equally, but the politics of that make it more difficult.

      It might have been better to reduce the higher income tax by an equivalent amount to match a higher rate, so that the overall tax take is roughly similar, somewhere in the middle, but then shed be accused of helping billionaires.

      • Tedrow
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        112 months ago

        I really don’t believe in the temporarily embarrassed millionaire. I just think people are that stupid. They hear tax increase and never look further.

        • Tiefling IRL
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          2 months ago

          These are the same people who believe getting a raise means you end up with less due to taxes

          Mind you, there is a hell pit where you make too much to qualify for assistance but not enough to afford existing, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

          • Tedrow
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            12 months ago

            Oh yeah, I was in that hell pit growing up and trying to get through college. The hell pit is awful. There is an even worse hell pit for disability benefits.

      • @Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        62 months ago

        That and because the republicans will keep claiming they want to raise taxes and peopke dont like being taxed.

        Gotta move to the right or the people who want us to move to the right will say mean things about us. Like they do no matter what.

  • @Overshoot2648@lemm.ee
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    602 months ago

    Capital gains tax being lower than income tax inverts the economy and just leads to a glut of capital owners. External capital ownership shouldn’t exist in the first place, but if it does, it shouldn’t be the cheapest way to earn money.

    • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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      132 months ago

      I actually really agree with the removal of external debts backed by capital being a saleable item - market socialism where corporate ownership is forcefully devolved to the actual employees would enable much higher economic efficiency.

      • @Overshoot2648@lemm.ee
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        92 months ago

        Yup, that’s why I’m a Mutualist. I think Spain has a pretty good setup that incentives ownership to be sold to it’s employees.

        • @WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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          32 months ago

          Can you point me to a related law in spain about this?

          I’ve always figured that political democracy can’t co-exist with capitalist plutocracy (when the corporate hierarchy is structured the opposite, top-down) but if there was a mandatory divestment where every business had to return x% of profits to the staff per annum and x% of ownership (e.g. based on a mix of value/wage/tenure) then that would reorient corporations to financially benefit a community and workers, and mitigate wealth inequality. The mandatory part is important as — like a strong minimum wage — it means all are competing on a level playing field and not with some inherent advantage/disadvantage.

  • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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    482 months ago

    Just abolish capital gains tax and treat income as income.

    Don’t discuss tip exemption. Just treat income as income.

    Then adjust the graduated scale to give low earners a fair relative burden and close off loop holes or set tax minimums.

    • @NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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      102 months ago

      Ok, how about those who borrow against the value of stocks? Let’s treat that as income too. Unrealized gains? Tax it.

      • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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        62 months ago

        That’s a tough one - borrowing against stock value has essentially become a cheat code for the rich to live lavish lifestyles without ever actually spending their own money so it’d be nice to close that hack… I’m just concerned there may be some side effect to such a policy that’d punish regular-ish folks - that might hit retirees hard, for example, by (effectively) forcing people to actually sell stock to meet expenses - even during market downturns.

        • @NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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          112 months ago

          Cool. Have a minimum on the tax then. Elon et al shouldn’t be able to borrow millions or billions against their assets without paying a massive tax on it. Encourage them to sell the asset, realize the gains, pay the tax, and spend their money.

          Zero reason for Tesla to have the valuation it does.

    • @Zaktor@sopuli.xyzOP
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      82 months ago

      Of all the things to proactively announce you’re different from Biden on, this was the issue she chose? Not saying anything and letting people assume what they’d like has been doing a lot of good work for the campaign, but there are definitely some issues she needs to break on. This wasn’t one of them. Be optimistic while campaigning and let it be killed in the senate like we all know it will.

      • @gmtom@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        More likely is that even if she was a raging socialist at heart or something, she still has to get elected and because of Americas broken system that means she has to appeal to a very specific demographic of people in a select few states, because no one else really matters. And that’s who statements like this is for, moderate republicans in swing states that are put off by Trumps incompetence but are scared about voting for a “”“” left wing"“” candidate.

  • @BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    72 months ago

    I’m VERY GLAD Kamala Harris mentioned she supports Genocide and Helping the Rich! For a Second there I was actually OPTIMISTIC about the Future of this Country!

    • @Bacano@lemmy.world
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      32 months ago

      That and the full throttle oil policy. Sigh of relief knowing I won’t have to rethink my outlook.