Harris proposes smaller hike in capital gains tax than Biden

By Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal

NORTH HAMPTON, New Hampshire (Reuters) -Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Wednesday proposed raising the capital gains tax rate for those earning $1 million or more to 28%, instead of the 39.6% rate proposed by President Joe Biden in his fiscal 2025 budget.

Vice President Harris also told cheering supporters at a brewery in North Hampton, New Hampshire, about 10 miles south of Portsmouth, that she would push for a $50,000 tax deduction for new small businesses, 10 times the current tax break.

"As president, one of my highest priorities will be to strengthen America's small businesses," Harris said, noting that small businesses employ half of all private sector workers in the United States.

Harris said lowering the cost of starting a new business - estimated at $40,000 on average - would help the U.S. reach her "very ambitious" goal of having 25 million new small business applications filed by the end of her first term.

A record 5.5 million new business applications were filed in 2023, according to the Small Business Administration.

Harris's proposal for a lower top tax rate on capital gains suggests she wants to appeal to a broader base of voters even as she sticks with most of Biden's plans to strengthen the middle class. Harris became the Democratic nominee after Biden stepped aside on July 21.

In his fiscal 2025 budget, Biden had proposed raising the tax rate on long-term capital gains - the profits made from selling or trading an asset held for more than a year - to 39.6% for those earning over $1 million annually, from the current rates, which range up to 20%, depending on income.

Harris said she also plans to offer low- and no-interest loans to small businesses, cut the red tape they face and expand access to venture capital.

She said she supported a minimum tax for billionaires proposed by Biden, adding, "It is not right that those who can afford it are often paying a lower tax rate than our teachers and our nurses and our firefighters," she said.

Harris took aim at her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, saying his plans would cut off federal programs that offer loans to small businesses, cut the corporate tax rate and push the U.S. deficit higher.

Recent polls show Harris with a four to six percentage point lead New Hampshire over Trump ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

New Hampshire has backed a Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1992, except for former President George W. Bush’s 2000 win. Biden beat Trump in the state by seven percentage points in 2020.

Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt denied a news report that Republicans had given up on the state and said Trump's campaign had an on-the-ground presence, office and staff there.

"Kamala Harris is parachuting in because she knows that the Granite State is in play," she said. "No amount of campaigning in New Hampshire will make up for the fact that Kamala Harris’ support for Bidenomics is crushing them. Energy prices and inflation are up while profit margins and small business optimism are down — and Kamala Harris is to blame.”

Harris spoke at the woman-owned Throwback Brewery, joined by the state's two female U.S. senators, other elected officials and a leader of a "Republicans for Harris" group in New Hampshire, where 330,000 registered independents outnumber the 258,000 registered Democrats and 301,000 registered Republicans.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Cynthia Osterman and Deepa Babington)