WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce economic policy proposals to aid miniature businesses during a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday.
The Democratic presidential candidate will campaign in Portsmouth to expand a tax break to $50,000 for start-up costs, up from $5,000, a campaign official said on background Tuesday. Harris will also propose a standard business deduction as a way to simplify tax filings for entrepreneurs.
Congress creates the nation’s tax law, so any changes will depend on which party passes it. wins control House and Senate in November. Many provisions enacted under the 2017 Trump-era tax law are set to expire at the end of 2025, leaving the next Congress with a major task of reworking the tax code.
The announcement is part of Harris’ proposal for what she calls an “opportunity economy” that would include an expanded child tax credit — up to $6,000 — for fresh parents, $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and tools to combat “price gouging” by gigantic companies, which Harris blames for high grocery prices, she says. he said CNN’s Dana Bash on Thursday.
Message for the middle class
Harris, whose vice presidential running mate is Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, has focused much of his attention in recent weeks on helping the middle class.
The former California attorney general and U.S. senator is expected to announce a slew of other proposals Wednesday aimed at encouraging more miniature business start-ups. She aims to secure 25 million fresh business start-up applications under her administration if elected.
Among the proposals are easing licensing requirements to allow companies to expand across state lines and encouraging state and local governments to “cut red tape” and reduce regulation. Harris will also introduce a proposal to award more federal contracts to miniature businesses and launch a fund that would allow community banks to pay interest costs for companies expanding in regions where investment is limited.
Harris’ stop in New Hampshire is one of at least three presidential campaign events this week. She and President Joe Biden campaigned in support of organized labor during Monday’s Labor Day holiday.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is scheduled to attend a town hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday, as well as a campaign rally in Mosinee, Wisconsin, on Saturday.
Trump attacked Biden and Harris on his online platform Truth Social Monday, blaming the administration for the high prices.
Trump wrote in his signature combination of upper and lower case letters that under Harris, whom he calls “comrade,” “all Americans are suffering this holiday weekend — high gas prices, rising transportation costs, and very high grocery prices. We cannot continue to live under this weak and failed ‘leadership.’”
US presidents do not set the prices of transportation or foodstuffs.
