Ending the step-up in basis for estates: Harris wants to end the
tax-free transferring of most estates and treat death as a taxable event for capital gains purposes. This is a massive attack on baby boomers planning their wills and dramatically reduces what they will be able to pass down to their heirs.
This plan would prevent many small businesses and family farms from passing down their properties. Consider a business or farm that has appreciated from $100,000 to $1 million over the last generation. Many heirs could not afford the associated tax hit of several hundred thousand dollars and would have no choice but to sell to generate the liquidity needed to pay.
Harris' plan attacks a primary aspiration of many small business owners: the opportunity to create generational wealth.