Vice President Kamala Harris' plan for a 28% corporate tax rate and controlling prices on goods could lead the U.S. into a "catastrophe," warned Jon Taffer, host of "Bar Rescue," on FOX Business.
"It's a nightmare," Taffer told Stuart Varney.
He pointed out the complexities of pricing. "Think of the hamburgers… there are thousands of different types a restaurant can buy. Every blend, every type you can think about. So, she has to send an analyst in to price every type of hamburger. Then the ranchers' costs can't go up. His price for feed [and] electronics must remain the same, so he can sell it to the processing plant. Then the processing plant's cost can't go up. They have to stay exactly the same – fuel, equipment, transportation, labor."
Taffer continued, "Then when it goes to the distributor, his costs can't go up. Fuel distribution, unions, all the other costs associated with his business. Then the restaurant gets the hamburger in a price-controlled way."
Last Wednesday, Harris announced her plan for a "federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries" to stop "big corporations" from exploiting consumers.
The proposal has caused concern across various industries. Even investors like Kevin O'Leary and financial experts like Dave Ramsey, along with some left-wing media outlets, have questioned the potential consequences.
Taffer, who has experience helping struggling businesses, is worried about the impact on restaurants. "What about the bun? What about the tomato? What about the lettuce? What about the ketchup? What happens then? I mean, it becomes absurd."
He added, "You cannot accomplish this, and when we look at past countries that have done this, shortages happen. If the bun guy can't make money, he stops making buns. So the supply side impact is massive. It's an absurd premise. The fact that it's being presented as a policy is as absurd as the premise itself."
Harris also proposed reversing Trump-era tax cuts by raising the corporate tax rate to 28%.
She claims it's a "fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people," but Taffer disagrees.
"That's taking 7% of the profits that we make out of our pockets. Those dollars are used for upgrades, for remodeling, for employee raises, for systems, for marketing, research and development, all of these things," he said.
Taffer noted that "a communist country, China, is 3% lower than us." From his perspective, this move is a disaster. "We're going to see reductions in payroll, reductions in other ways, price increases, things to offset that impact. From an American standpoint, how do we compete in a global marketplace when our companies are paying a higher tax rate than our largest competitor that is a communist government?"
He concluded with a stark warning: "It destroys business on a local basis, and it weakens America's economy on a global basis. These are policies that make no sense. When you start to put these things together, words like ‘catastrophe’ appear, and that's the most horrifying of all."