Do you have $100 million?

Is this you?

No? Well, then you don’t have to worry about Kamala Harris’ plan to tax unrealized capital gains. Here’s why.

This proposed tax on unrealized capital gains — that is, the profits on unsold investments that have grown in value since they were acquired, like stocks and property — would only apply to individuals or households with a net worth of $100 million or more. And they’d only pay this tax if they hadn’t already paid at least a 25% income tax rate.

Does this sound like you? Probably not. These people make up less than 0.05% of the population.

Now you might be thinking, “If they haven’t sold their investments, why should they be taxed?”

Well, the wealthy don't sell off investments like stocks in order to reap the benefits of their massive portfolios. Instead, they use the value of their unrealized capital gains as collateral to borrow the money they need to finance their luxurious lifestyles.

And they can borrow that money at low interest rates — sometimes as low as 1%. That’s way lower than the top capital gains tax rate of 20% and the top income tax rate of 37%.

It’s one way the super-rich can get away with paying lower effective tax rates than working people.

That’s why the Harris tax proposal is important.

One, it would help fund government investments in schools, health care, and infrastructure that benefit all of us. Two, it would help address rampant wealth inequality in America that has resulted in outsized power for the super-rich. And three, anyone who pays the tax will still be super, super rich. They won’t miss it.

So don’t buy the fear-mongering you might have heard about it.