Kamala Harris reached for another GOP policy proposal this week, calling for a small business tax break rejected by almost all Democrat lawmakers six years ago and supported by every Republican member of the House.
Harris is proposing an expansion of the tax deduction for small business start-up expenses from $5,000 to $50,000, according to descriptions of the proposal citing anonymous campaign officials.
The idea mirrors similar legislation that has been proposed several times by Republicans, most prominently by Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). In 2018, the House passed a version of Buchanan’s bill that would have increased the deduction to $20,000. Every Republican member of the House voted in favor of the legislation, and nearly all Democrats voted against it. The Trump administration supported the bill.
The bill was included in a legislation package meant as a follow-up to the 2017 Trump tax cuts. It was known as “Tax Reform 2.0.”
Current law allows for deductions of expenses such as advertisements and salaries incurred even before a business is officially operating. But the deduction is capped at $5,000.
Harris is expected to tout the proposal on Wednesday in New Hampshire as part of her goal of having 25 million new small businesses started in her first term. So far in President Joe Biden’s term, only 19 million small businesses have been started.
In the past, Democrats have attacked tax breaks for small businesses, many of which are operated as so-called pass-through entities, claiming they mostly benefit the wealthy. Harris’s proposal is aimed at making her seem more business-friendly than the Biden-Harris administration has been.
Since ascending to the top of the Democrat ticket, Harris has been attempting to distance herself from the Biden-Harris administration’s policies, many of which are seen as unfriendly to business and damaging to the economy. Last month, Harris said she would support not taxing tips for service workers—a proposal first put forth by her rival for the White House, Donald Trump. Harris has also claimed that she no longer supports a ban on fracking.
