Rep. Kamala Harris this week reached out to new Republican policy proposals, calling for small business tax cuts that were rejected by nearly all Democrats six years ago and supported by all House Republicans.
According to a description of the proposal, Harris proposes expanding the tax credit for small business start-up expenses from $5,000 to $50,000. Citing anonymous election officials.
The idea is similar to a similar bill that has been proposed multiple times by Republicans, most notably Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). In 2018, the House passed Buchanan's bill to raise the deduction to $20,000. Every Republican in the House voted for the bill, and nearly every Democrat voted against it. The Trump administration supported the bill.
The bill was included in a package of legislation enacted as a follow-up to the 2017 Trump tax cuts. “Tax Reform 2.0”
Current law allows businesses to deduct expenses such as advertising and payroll even before their business officially begins operations, but deductions are capped at $5,000.
Harris is expected to tout the proposal in New Hampshire on Wednesday as part of her goal of starting 25 million new small businesses in the first year of her term — compared with just 19 million that have been started so far during President Joe Biden's term.
Democrats have previously attacked tax cuts for small businesses, many of which operate as so-called pass-through entities, arguing that the benefits go primarily to the wealthy. Harris' proposal is intended to portray itself as more business-friendly than the Biden-Harris administration.
Since emerging as the Democratic front-runner, Harris has sought to distance herself from the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, many of which are seen as anti-business and damaging to the economy. Last month, Harris said she supports ending a tip tax on service workers, a plan first proposed by White House rival Donald Trump. Harris has also said she would not support a ban on fracking.
