Harris’s Proposed Capital Gains Tax Rate Would Be Highest for Many Since 1978

As part of the 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is proposing to tax long-term capital gains at a top rate of 33 percent for high earners, taking the top federal rate to highs not seen since 1978. There are also additional state and local capital gains taxes to consider. The current top combined capital gains tax rate is 29.1 percent, consisting of the 20 percent capital gains tax rate, the 3.8 percent NIIT, and the 5.3 percent average of state and local income tax rates on capital gains. By taxing high earners’ capital gains at 28 percent and raising the NIIT to 5 percent, Harris’s proposals would raise the top combined tax rate on capital gains to 38.3 percent—the second highest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), behind Denmark’s 42 percent. In USA, adding state and local taxes, 10 States are over 40% with California at #1 at 46.3%. Similarly, under Harris’s proposals, the top tax rate on dividends would be nearly the highest in the OECD. Harris Capital Gains Tax Rate Would Be Highest Since 1978 (taxfoundation.org)