Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) its September 2024 Porker of the Month for trying to force taxpayers to pay taxes on unrealized gains on investments.

Rep. Jayapal’s proposed tax on the increased value of an investment hurts everyone who is saving money for a home, vacation, retirement, and any other purpose. The tax would be paid on money that does not exist since it would be based on the increase in value rather than the profit that is taken out of the investment. But if the investment goes down, there is no “rebate” or “repayment” for the loss in value. Enforcement would be extraordinarily complex because values fluctuate daily, so Rep. Jayapal is including $100 billion for the IRS to spend on audits for taxpayers impacted by her plan.

CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Rep. Jayapal’s plan would undermine capital investment in the U.S. and push the flow of money to other countries. Taxing unrealized gains is a terrible idea that will be devastating to the economy and Americans’ lives and retirement plans. For this reason, Rep. Jayapal was an easy choice for September Porker of the Month.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the taxpayers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240920768624/en/