Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday proposed policies she hopes will spur the creation of small businesses across the U.S., while also breaking with one of President Biden’s policies by announcing that she would keep capital gains tax increases lower than Biden has proposed.
First, she wants to expand the small business tax credit tenfold from $5,000 to $50,000 to help startups cover the average $40,000 it takes to launch a business. She also has a goal of accepting 25 million new small business applications during her first term, surpassing the previous record of 19 million applications filed under the Biden-Harris Administration.
“As president, one of my top priorities is to strengthen America’s small businesses,” Harris said Wednesday at a campaign event at Throwback Brewery outside Portsmouth, N.H. “So that’s the first thing I’m going to do is help more small businesses and innovators get started.”
In addition to increasing the number of small businesses being established, Harris said he aims to make it easier for existing businesses to expand by cutting “red tape that can make it unnecessarily difficult for small businesses to start and grow.”
Regarding a capital gains tax, Harris argued that “when governments encourage investment, it leads to broad-based economic growth, creates jobs and strengthens our economy.”
Harris’ proposed capital gains tax rate of 28% on those making more than $1 million is lower than the 39.6% proposed in Biden’s 2025 budget, which currently stands at 23.8%.
With his proposal, Harris hopes to make it easier for entrepreneurs to expand their storefronts by removing some of the financial hurdles that can make it difficult for founders to succeed.
The proposal underscores Harris’ belief that the nation’s 33 million small businesses employ nearly all of the country’s private sector workers, generate trillions of dollars a year and underpin the American economy by driving economic growth and innovation, campaign officials told CBS News.
Harris’ tax credit proposal would also allow new businesses to reduce their taxes if they so wish by waiting to apply for the credit until they are profitable.
The presidential candidates also propose simplifying the tax-filing process by creating a standard deduction for small businesses and making it easier for companies to obtain occupational licenses to expand, and encouraging state and local governments to ease regulations that can stifle small business growth.
“We want to make it cheaper and easier for small businesses to file taxes,” Harris said, adding, “We want to remove some of the red tape and make it easier for people to actually take actions that will benefit the entire economy.”
Other features of Harris’ broad economic plan announced so far include cutting taxes for most Americans, building more affordable housing, and Prohibiting “price gouging” in the food industry.
Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.
