WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris used a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Wednesday to propose an expansion of tax incentives for small businesses, a pro-entrepreneur plan that may soften her previous calls for wealthy Americans and large corporations to pay higher taxes.
Describing small businesses as "an essential foundation to our entire economy,'' Harris said she wants to expand from $5,000 to $50,000 tax incentives for startup expenses, with the goal of eventually spurring 25 million new small business applications over four years.
The speech was part of Harris' effort to strengthen her economic credentials with only two months until the end of the election.
''You're not only leaders in business. You're civic leaders,'' Harris said. She added, ''You are part of the glue and the fabric that holds communities together.''
The vice president spoke at the Throwback Brewery in North Hampton, outside Portsmouth, and met with co-founders Annette Lee and Nicole Carrier. Their brewery got support to open its current location through a small business credit and installed solar panels using federal programs championed by the Biden administration.
After that, Harris visited another women-owned small business, Port City Pretzels, which was founded in 2015 and had expanded out of its original, 500-foot facility into a larger location. One of the co-owners, Suzanne Foley, led Harris around brown boxes bearing the company's logo, some stacked head-high and waiting to be shipped to customers around the country.
''Thank you for visiting our little company," said Foley, who beamed and chatted with Harris as the pair walked around the facility. At one point, the vice president asked of the pretzels ''Is it a family recipe?'' When the answer came back yes, she offered, ''Is it a secret family recipe?" Foley responded, ''It's not really, no."
Meanwhile, the campaign of Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican nominee, dismissed Harris' plan, noting that the vice president has promised to eliminate a package of tax cuts approved during his administration that are set to expire next year. Trump's campaign said those cuts ''allowed business owners to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income,'' reduced taxes on new equipment purchases and took steps to bolster small businesses as compared to larger ones.