The hosts of CNBC's Squawk Box sparred with Bharat Ramamurti, an informal economic adviser for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, over the Biden-Harris proposal to tax unrealized capital gains—a policy the hosts argued was "unfair" and potentially "unconstitutional."
Hosts Rebecca Quick and Joe Kernen challenged Ramamurti on the proposal, with Quick criticizing it as unreasonable because it would effectively "pull forward the taxes that would be paid later when someone sells the stock."
Reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times indicate that Harris supports Biden's recent budget proposal, which includes a 25% tax on unrealized capital gains for individuals with more than $100 million in wealth, alongside raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%.
"I think the reaction to unrealized gains is a bit funny, considering the majority of people watching right now are likely already paying taxes on unrealized gains—it’s called a property tax," Ramamurti responded.
Quick and Kernen immediately pushed back, emphasizing that property taxes are a "use tax" dedicated to funding services like schools.
Ramamurti countered, saying that when home values rise, homeowners pay higher taxes even if they don’t sell their property.
Quick shot back, "The value of your home doesn’t fluctuate like stocks do, and property tax is a use tax. You're paying for schools, emergency services—things that make sense."
Ramamurti maintained that the unrealized gains tax in Harris' plan would generate revenue to create more opportunities for Americans.
