During the CNN debate tonight Joe Biden reiterated his call for a steep capital gains tax hike on the American people, the latest of numerous threats to raise the tax.
“I can pay for my health care plan by changing the way in which we deal with capital gains. People should pay based on their income tax. Not 20%,” Biden said.
Biden has already said that he plans to double the capital gains tax rate to 40 percent for “every single solitary person.”
25 million American households have a capital gains filing in a given year. Eighty-two percent of these households make less than $200,000 in income per year.
Raising the capital gains tax would harm Americans’ ability to build a nest egg and hurt the value of their homes, farms, and businesses.
Biden’s comments and his long Senate voting record mean voters should expect him to push for capital gains tax hikes if elected. During his time in the Senate, Biden consistently voted against tax cuts on capital gains.
In 2003, Biden voted against the reduction in the capital gains rate from 20 percent to 15 percent. In 2005 and 2006, Biden voted against extending the 15 percent rate.
In 2012, then-Vice President Biden and President Obama insisted the cap gains rate revert to 20 percent.
Biden and Obama then piled on another 3.8 percent capital gains tax hike — the Net Income Investment Tax — one of the many tax increases in Obamacare. The 3.8 percent tax hike took effect Jan. 1, 2013.
Currently, long-term capital gains are taxed at zero percent, 15 percent, or 20 percent, depending on income level.
Households subject to Obamacare’s 3.8 percent Net Income Investment Tax end up paying a 23.8% rate. And under Biden’s cap gains scheme, such households will face a 43.4 percent rate.
If you want to stay up-to-date on Democratic candidates and their threats to raise taxes, visit www.atr.org/HighTaxDems.