Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, United States, August 20, 2024.
Fresh Mike | Reuters
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Sunday that Vice President Kamala Harris should raise her proposed 28% long-term capital gains tax rate, in a dispute with the Democrat. The latest disagreement over the presidential candidates’ economic platforms.
“I’m going to be higher than this,” Sanders told NBC. “Meet the Press” Harris’ proposed capital gains tax rate. “I think she’s trying to be pragmatic and do what she thinks is right to win the election. My own perspective is slightly different.”
Harris announced plans on Wednesday to impose a 28% tax on long-term capital gains (i.e., assets owned for more than a year), up from the current top rate of 20%.
The proposal softens the party’s line on tax reform.
President Biden previously proposed setting the capital gains tax rate at 39.6% in his fiscal 2025 budget. In 2016, Sanders ran for the Democratic presidential nomination with a higher expectation rate of 54.2%.
Sanders said Harris’ economic platform should further tax the wealthy.
“I think what the vice president needs is a strong agenda that talks to working people,” he said.
Despite Harris’ ties to major megadonors, Sanders remains staunchly opposed to the political influence of billionaires. She has also received endorsements from Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and dozens of other wealthy business leaders.
“Am I worried about the influence of billionaires on the Democratic Party? I am, just like I am on the Republican Party,” he said.
Harris launched her campaign in July after Biden withdrew and endorsed Harris, who has supported Harris but has expressed lukewarm support for her financial proposals.
In addition to tax reform, Sanders has spoken out against Harris’ shift against Medicare for All, a proposal to provide free, universal public health care to all Americans that she supported during her first campaign for president in 2019.
Harris has been dialing back some of the more progressive positions she took in 2019 to appeal more broadly to undecided moderate voters who could decide the outcome of the race.
For example, the vice president welcomed the support of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney. They are the latest in a series of high-profile Republicans to turn against the party led by Trump.
Sanders’ tepid enthusiasm for his economic platform could work to Harris’ advantage as she attempts to win broad support among centrists. The distance between Harris and Sanders has helped the Democratic nominee push back against Trump’s attacks on her calling her “the president of the United States” by providing a stark contrast to one of the most progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill. “Radical left-wing lunatic.”
Despite policy differences, Sanders has backed her campaign and has shown greater enthusiasm for her goals of building more affordable housing and strengthening union protections.
“Yes, her views are not mine, but I do think she is progressive,” Sanders said.
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