Subject: Re: Harris and the Dem tax proposals,
It gets very complicated.

Of course. That's why it is exceptionally unlikely to ever happen.

But you set that against the fact that Warren Buffett has earned about $200 billion over his lifetime, but our tax system treats him as if he has only earned about $0.7 billion (or less).

There's no easy answer, but neither scenario (trying to tax unrealized income, or leaving unrealized income to remain unrealized at the discretion of the individual) is ideal.