Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, USA, August 20, 2024.
Mike Segar | Reuters
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on Sunday said Vice President Kamala Harris should raise her proposed 28 percent tax rate on long-term capital gains, marking his latest departure from the Democratic presidential nominee’s economic platform.
“I would go higher than that,” Sanders told NBC “Meet the press” of Harris’ proposed capital gains tax rate. “I think she’s trying to be realistic and do what she thinks is right to win the election. My view is slightly different.”
Harris on Wednesday announced her plan for a 28% tax on long-term capital gains, assets owned for more than a year, up from the current top rate of 20%.
This proposal softens the party line on tax reform.
President Joe Biden previously proposed a 39.6 percent capital gains tax rate in the fiscal year 2025 budget. In 2016, Sanders campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination with an even higher desired rate of 54.2 percent.
Sanders said Harris’ economic platform should go further on taxing the wealthy.
“I think what the vice president needs is a strong agenda that speaks to workers,” he said.
Sanders has also remained steadfast in his opposition to the political influence of billionaires, even as Harris cultivates ties to bigwigs. It has also garnered endorsements from Mark Cuban, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and dozens of other wealthy corporate leaders.
“Am I worried about the influence of billionaires in the Democratic Party? I really am, as I am in the Republican Party,” he said.
Since Harris launched her campaign in July after Biden dropped out and endorsed her, Sanders has endorsed Harris but offered lukewarm support for her economic proposals.
Along with tax reform, Sanders has openly disagreed with Harris’s shift against supporting Medicare for All, the proposal to provide free universal public health care to all Americans that she championed during her first presidential bid in 2019.
Harris has scaled back some of her most progressive positions in 2019 to appeal more broadly to the undecided, moderate voters who will likely decide the race.
The vice president, for example, welcomed the endorsements of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney. They were the latest in a string of prominent Republicans to oust the Trump-led party.
As Harris tries to build broad support from the center, Sanders’ tepid enthusiasm for her economic platform could work in her favor. Contrasting one of the most progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill, the distance between Harris and Sanders helps the Democratic nominee counter Trump’s attacks by calling her “radical left-wing lunatic.”
Despite their policy differences, Sanders has supported her campaign and shown more zeal for her goals to build more affordable housing and strengthen union protections.
“Well, yes, her views are not mine, but I consider her a progressive,” Sanders said.
