Harris Visits New Hampshire to Promote Her Small Business Tax Plan

In a significant campaign stop in New Hampshire, Vice President Kamala Harris has put forth a bold proposal aimed at expanding tax incentives for small businesses. This initiative marks a notable shift from her previous advocacy for increasing taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations.

During her visit to Portsmouth, Harris introduced the idea of raising the tax incentive for small business startup expenses from $5,000 to $50,000. The goal of this proposal is to stimulate the creation of new small businesses, with an ambition to generate 25 million new applications within the next four years.

Harris’s stop in New Hampshire, a state that has consistently leaned Democratic in past presidential elections, also has potential implications for neighboring Maine, where electoral votes can be split. This trip highlights a strategic pivot for Harris, who has mainly concentrated on key battleground states in the Midwest and Sun Belt which are likely to be decisive in the upcoming election.

With President Joe Biden stepping back from his reelection campaign and endorsing Harris, the vice president has turned her focus to vital “blue wall” states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, which have historically played crucial roles in Democratic victories. She has also made frequent visits to competitive states like Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina, where she anticipates making strides in challenging Republican strongholds.

Harris’s New Hampshire visit follows her Labor Day weekend rallies in major cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh, and she is scheduled to return to Pittsburgh once more later this week for her tenth trip to Pennsylvania in 2024. However, this Wednesday marks her first engagement in New Hampshire in several years.

The current political landscape also shows contrasting tax policies from the Republican front. Former President Donald Trump has advocated for a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 15%. This stands in stark opposition to Biden’s budget proposal suggesting an increase to 28%. Although Harris has not unveiled many major policy proposals since taking the helm of the Democratic ticket, she has not indicated any intent to deviate significantly from the existing administration’s tax policies.

Harris’s new focus on small business incentives is likely to resonate positively with many in the business community. However, it presents a counterpoint to another program she announced last month that addresses rising inflation and aims to combat price gouging, particularly among food producers, which she claims has unfairly inflated grocery prices.

Throughout her campaign, Harris has emphasized her commitment to strengthening the middle class, underscoring the need for wealthy individuals and corporations to contribute their fair share through higher taxes.

In the 2020 presidential election, Biden won New Hampshire by a margin of seven percentage points; however, Trump came close to victory in 2016 against Hillary Clinton. The Harris campaign has indicated that it has a significant ground game in New Hampshire, operating 17 field offices in collaboration with the state Democratic Party, compared to only one field office for Trump’s campaign.

Some local Democrats expressed frustration after Biden directed the Democratic National Committee to have South Carolina host the first primary of the election cycle, thus replacing Iowa’s caucus and New Hampshire’s long-standing primary status. Despite these alterations, New Hampshire pursued an unsanctioned primary where Biden, despite not campaigning or being on the ballot, still managed to win through a write-in campaign.

Trump is leveraging the situation to his advantage, claiming that Harris is facing challenges in her campaign due to the perceived disrespect shown towards New Hampshire during the primary process. He noted the pressing issues of high living costs and energy expenses in the state, asserting that he remains a staunch protector of New Hampshire’s role in the primary process.

As campaigning intensifies for the upcoming election, the dynamics in New Hampshire and across the nation will be essential to monitor, with small business initiatives and tax policies likely to play pivotal roles in shaping public opinion.