Hedge fund billionaire and Trump donor John Paulson says market would 'crash' under Harris tax plans

cnbc.com:

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, who made a name for himself by betting against the housing market during the financial crisis and who is today a prominent supporter of former President Donald Trump, said there could be a collapse in the financial markets and a recession if Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed tax plans become a reality.

«They want to raise the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28%, they want to raise the capital gains tax from 20% to 39% and then they want to add a tax on unrealized capital gains of 25%,» Paulson said in an interview on CNBC's "Money Movers" on Friday with Sara Eisen. «I think if they implement those policies, we'll see a crash in the markets, no question about it.»

The Democratic presidential nominee proposed a 28% tax on long-term capital gains for any household with an annual income of $1 million or more, lower than the 39.6% rate that President Joe Biden laid out in his 2025 fiscal-year budget.

Meanwhile, Harris previously endorsed the tax increases proposed by Biden that include a 25% tax on unrealized gains for households worth at least $100 million, known as the billionaire minimum tax. However, people close to the Harris campaign, including investor Mark Cuban, have said she has no interest in taxing unrealized gains and there are doubts if any such plan could make it through Congress.

Paulson shot to fame and made a fortune after taking a massive bet against mortgage bonds using credit default swaps before the financial crisis. The founder and president of family office Paulson & Co. has been a major donor to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, reportedly advising him on the idea of building a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

The 68-year-old investor believes the economy could