Harris visits New Hampshire to tout her small business tax plan

WASHINGTON (AP) — 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. 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. 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. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris talks with co-owners of Port City Pretzels, Eileen Marousek, left, as her mother, Suzanne Foley watches as she campaigns in Portsmouth, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks with co-owners of Port City Pretzels, Eileen Marousek, center, and her mother, Suzanne Foley, as she campaigns in Portsmouth, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) “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’ small business 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. Before talking about her small business plan, Harris addressed Wednesday’s school shooting in Georgia. “It’s just outrageous that every day, in our country, in the United States of America, that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive.” Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she steps on stage to address a crowd, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024, during a campaign stop, in North Hampton, N.H. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) She added: “We’ve got to stop it. Since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris, the vice president has focused on Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which have been the centerpiece of successful Democratic campaigns. What to know about the 2024 Election Today’s news: Follow live updates Ground Game: Sign up for AP’s weekly politics newsletter AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Harris has released relatively few major policy proposals in the roughly six weeks since taking over the top of the Democratic ticket, but has not suggested she’s planning to deviate greatly from Biden on tax policy. But that contrasts with another proposal Harris unveiled last month, where she promised to help fight inflation by working to combat “price gouging” from food producers that she suggests have driven grocery store prices up unnecessarily. She repeated that message Wednesday, saying “billionaires and big corporations must pay their fair share in taxes.” “It’s just not right that those who can most afford it are often paying a lower tax rate than our teachers and our nurses and our firefighters,” she told the New Hampshire crowd. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. Biden, who built his campaign around promoting the middle class, won New Hampshire by 7 percentage points in 2020, but Trump came much closer to winning it against Hillary Clinton in 2016. The Harris campaign says it has 17 field offices operating in coordination with the state Democratic party across New Hampshire, compared to one for Trump’s campaign. Trump has seized on the primary calendar change, posting on his social media account that Harris “sees there are problems for her campaign in New Hampshire because of the fact that they disrespected it in their primary and never showed up.” “Additionally, the cost of living in New Hampshire is through the roof, their energy bills are some of highest in the country, and their housing market is the most unaffordable in history,” the former president wrote. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://apnews.com/6dce74635a82647c44f8d6446ebffd17