Mark Cuban, billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, isn’t happy with Vice President Kamala Harris’ proposed tax on unrealized capital gains. During an interview today, Mark said this plan would “kill the stock market.”
Kamala wants to introduce a 25% tax on unrealized capital gains for people worth more than $100 million. This means the government would tax rich investors based on how much their assets have gone up in value, even if they haven’t sold anything.
For Mark, this is a terrible idea. He believes it would wreak havoc on the market by forcing investors to sell assets just to pay their tax bill.
Mark explained that if wealthy individuals are taxed on gains they haven’t cashed in yet, they’d have to sell their investments, especially during market dips, to cover the tax bill.
“Companies won’t go public,” he warned, adding that such a tax would be a major win for private equity firms, as more companies would avoid going public due to the uncertainty and potential tax implications.
Mark also touched on the problem of market volatility. He mentioned how this tax could hurt investors, who might pay taxes on their gains, only for the market to drop afterward.
This, he said, would leave them in a financial disaster. Investors, already cautious during downturns, would be less likely to back startups and growth-oriented companies under these circumstances.
It’s complicated to put a tax on assets that haven’t been sold yet, especially for those that don’t trade publicly. How do you put a dollar value on something that’s not easily tradable?
He also warned about the possibility of wealthy individuals borrowing against their portfolios to avoid selling off assets, creating a cycle of debt that could destabilize the financial system.
Kamala’s plan has faced pushback from both Republicans and Democrats. Mark isn’t all negative about her, though. He’s been in communication with her campaign, saying that Kamala is willing to listen to feedback from business leaders.
He’s pointed out that she’s not set in her ways and could be open to modifying the tax plan based on discussions with the financial community. He has also told us that she actually supports crypto, albeit never publicly.
A Coinbase executive said earlier today that the Harris campaign was accepting crypto donations, but this was incorrect. Turns out it is actually the Future Forward super PAC, not the campaign itself, that is accepting crypto contributions.
In contrast, Harris’s Republican opponent, Donald Trump, has actively courted crypto donors and promised friendly policies if elected.
