Harris's proposal for tax reduction for the middle class and lower income groups leans toward populism.
Weeks after securing the Democratic presidential nomination, Vice President Kamala Harris launched a populist economic vision on Friday, putting forward a fresh plan to reduce taxes for over 100 million middle-class and lower-class Americans.
During a speech in battleground North Carolina, the vice president unveiled her economic program, which includes policies to lower the cost of housing, food, health care, and raising children. It happens at the same time that former President Donald Trump, Harris' Republican opponent, is attempting to hold her accountable for inflation since she and President Joe Biden took office.
Biden's economic program is primarily expanded upon by Harris's ideas, which revive or prolong temporary initiatives that House Democrats approved in huge packages during the party's two years in control of Congress.
Harris declared that she will "build on the foundations" of the Biden administration's economic achievements.
But many Americans do not yet experience that advancement in their day-to-day lives, as far as we are aware. In addition, costs are still too high, and many individuals find it extremely difficult to succeed in life, regardless of how hard they work, she added.
She declared that creating a middle-class "opportunity economy" would be a "defining goal of her presidency." She also promised to stop price gouging and control the escalating costs of items like food.
"As president, I'll tackle the high expenses that are most important to the majority of Americans," she declared. "I am aware that the majority of businesses create employment, support our economy, and follow the law. However, some aren't, and that's simply wrong. In those situations, we must act.
Prior to withdrawing from the 2024 contest last month, Biden found it difficult to explain and justify his economic track record. Harris is trying to pitch a more aggressive set of progressive policies with a more optimistic tone, promising to support the middle class and challenge large corporations that she believes are to responsible for cost increases.
Days before Democrats convene in Chicago for the party convention, the Democratic nominee unveiled her economic platform. There, they plan to highlight differences between Trump's and Harris's respective economic policies.
Harris criticized Trump's economic plans on Friday, focusing in particular on his suggestions for 10% to 20% taxes on imports, which experts predict will be passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.
The vice president said that millions of Americans will see their cost of living increase as a result of Trump's plans, which would "devastate the middle class and punish working people."
"He wants to put what amounts to a national sales tax on needs and common goods that we buy from other nations. Americans will be devastated by that. It will result in increased costs for nearly all of your everyday necessities. A Trump-era gas tax. A Trump tax on food. A Trump tax on apparel. A Trump levy on nonprescription drugs," stated Harris. "He would raise prices even further right now because they are already too high."
Congress would need to approve Harris' additional initiatives, and she hasn't said how she plans to pay for her extravagant wish list at a time when the national debt is rapidly increasing. According to those with knowledge of the situation, Harris' team is preparing a number of rollouts of economic ideas focused on particular themes, so those specifics will be revealed later.
According to Harris' proposal, the popular $3,600 child tax credit increase from $2,000 will be reinstated as part of the American Rescue Plan and made permanent. The improvement only became operational in 2021. Due in part to its high cost, Biden and Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill have failed in their attempts to partially resurrect it. Republicans in the Senate blocked a bipartisan package that would have temporarily strengthened the child tax credit, even though it had cleared the House earlier this year.
Additionally, a new child tax credit of up to $6,000 would be added by the idea for middle-class and lower-class families whose children are still in the first year of life. According to the ad, that's also the period when many parents have to take time off from work and when a family's costs, such those for car seats, cribs, and diapers, might be at their greatest.
The earned income tax credit, or EITC, would be increased under Harris' economic plan to provide front-line employees without dependent children with a $1,500 tax break. The maximum credit given to employees in lower-paying jobs was raised under the American Rescue Plan to around that amount, however the EITC increase was only implemented for 2021.
The more substantial Affordable Care Act premium subsidies are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025; however, the vice president's plan asks for extending them. The improvement, made possible by the American Rescue Plan and continued by the Inflation Reduction Act, has contributed to record numbers of people signing up for Obamacare coverage.
What is unclear from Harris's idea is the duration for which these expensive clauses would apply.
As previously reported by CNN, her wider economic agenda will include a four-year plan to reduce housing prices, which would include measures to encourage the development of new housing, such as tax incentives for starting homes, and a $25,000 down payment aid program for first-time homeowners. She may also advocate for a government prohibition on price gouging in order to bring down the cost of groceries and other necessities.
Harris' tax cut idea comes at a time when the Trump campaign is relentlessly criticizing her for being anti-family, especially in reference to GOP vice presidential contender JD Vance. Vance expressed his desire to raise the child tax credit to $5,000 per child in an interview with CBS News over the weekend. The child tax credit was doubled to $2,000 by the former president Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, however both that improvement and the other individual income tax features of the bill are scheduled to expire at the end of the following year.
In an attempt to present a striking contrast, the Harris team criticized Trump's economic policies, claiming that he is "running on a promise to give another billionaire tax break to his ultra-wealthy friends." The campaign said that the former president's proposal “will give big corporations a $1.5 trillion windfall, give billionaires a tax handout of $3.5 million apiece each year, and facilitate the wealthy tax evaders' ability to escape paying what they owe.
