Vice President Harris on Wednesday signaled a policy difference with President Biden, calling for a lower capital gains tax increase than Biden had proposed.
During a campaign speech in New Hampshire, Harris said she wants to raise capital gains taxes on people earning more than $1 million from the current effective rate of 23.6 percent to 28 percent.
Harris' proposal is well below the 44.6% rate proposed by the Biden administration in its July budget proposal, and also below the increase to 39.6% included in the president's latest budget proposal.
“Under my plan, for people making over $1 million a year, the tax rate on long-term capital gains would be 28 percent, because we know that when government encourages investment, it leads to broad-based economic growth,” Harris said in New Hampshire.
Governor Harris provided more details about her economic plan in her State of the Union address on Wednesday, proposing to increase the tax credit for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000.
Broader “access to capital,” support for “business incubators,” and increased federal contracting with small businesses were also elements of her plan.
Harris also mentioned administrative changes to business tax returns, “similar to how individuals take the standard deduction.”
Harris's move to reduce the capital gains tax increase is a compromise with Republicans who typically do not support raising the tax, and reflects a move toward the center of the U.S. political party in the final days of the election campaign.
on tuesday New York Times Op-edDemocratic strategist James Carville urged Harris to differentiate herself from Biden.
“Harris's more explicit break with Biden would be no insult to Biden's record, just as Biden's objectively more progressive policy agenda was no insult to Obama's policies,” Carville wrote.
