Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary Makes Dubious Claim Biden Budget Will Lead to Highest Taxed Individuals on Earth

The bookers of CNN’s New Day appear to have made the curious decision to schedule Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary to opine on two bills put forth by the Biden administration that is reportedly set for a vote in the House of Representatives.

The reality show co-host and private equity millionaire proceeded to gravely warn CNN viewers of the tax implications of a plan that, candidly, people have not yet seen in full — a fact which renders baseless his claim that whatever will be passed will make every person in certain states among “the highest taxed individual(s) on Earth.”

“This is an experiment never done to any nation,” O’Leary opened. “Most nations, when they deal with tax increases, either do it at the corporate level or the personal level. But no nation has ever done both. So if you’re in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, or California and the Biden plan was put in place, including the tax increases, you would be, as an individual, the highest taxed individual on Earth. And the companies inside your state would be the highest taxed companies on Earth.”

“That’s probably not a good outcome for the competitiveness of the U.S. economy. And that’s why it’s having such a hard time getting through,” he concluded.

It’s not clear what exactly O’Leary is referencing because, of course, no one yet exactly knows what is in the budget plan that will be passed. President Joe Biden, however, has been explicitly clear that his plan will only raise taxes on Americans who earn over $400,000 per year — a figure which impacts only the top 1.8% of wage earners in America. Not everyone in certain states, as O’Leary claimed.

O’Leary didn’t make that clarification, nor was he challenged by either John Berman or Brianna Keilar, so one is left to think that perhaps the Shark Tank host is only considering the impact on the wealthy. Though to be clear, he is a Canadian citizen, so why his opinion on how the US tax code affects the super-wealthy is relevant for CNN viewers, is a good question.

It could be that O’Leary was booked solely for star value, in an effort to increase ratings on a morning show that has been performing woefully since the start of the year. O’Leary is reportedly worth over $400 million, so perhaps his insights are a balance to a much-ballyhooed report on the ill effects of rising milk prices?

“The globe is a very competitive place,” O’Leary offered in the sort of meaningless platitude that makes for mindless reality TV. “But Build Back Better making Americans the highest taxed people on Earth, and the companies the highest taxed companies on Earth, I don’t see it happening.”

Berman pushed back, saying “To be clear, the Build Back Better plan — and we don’t know what it will end up being doesn’t actually raise the corporate tax rates definitionally. It sets a corporate tax minimum so the corporations that aren’t paying or don’t have to pay corporate taxes because of various write-offs do have to do something.”

Berman was referencing multiple reports that many of America’s largest corporations do not pay what many believe is a fair share of taxes, though the detail of that particular observation is murky, perhaps intentionally.

Watch above via CNN.