Joe Biden would tax the estates of wealthy individuals at a rate as high as 67%, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank that examines the tax code.
That high rate is a combination of Biden’s plans for raising the capital gains and estate taxes for people who earned over $1 million annually before death.
Under Biden’s plan, unrealized capital gains would be taxed at 43.3% at death. That rate includes taxing those gains at ordinary income tax rates, which would be raised to 39.6% under the former vice president’s plan. It also includes a net investment income tax of 3.8%.
Biden would also lower the exemption for the estate tax to $3.5 million and raise the rate to 45%. Today, the exemption is set at over $11 million for individuals, and the rate is 40%.
Under the Tax Foundation’s scenario, which assumes a $100 million estate comprised of capital gains, taxes would eat up roughly $43 million of the fortune.
Estate taxes would then be applied to the remaining parts of the estate.
So, for the scenario of a $100 million estate made up of capital gains, Biden’s plan would result in roughly $43 million of capital gains taxes plus $23 million in estate taxes, for a total of over $67 million, or 67%.
The Biden campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the Tax Foundation’s analysis.
