By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Kamala Harris is laying out proposals to chop taxes for many People, ban “value gouging” by grocers and increase reasonably priced housing throughout her first main economy-focused speech because the Democratic presidential candidate on Friday.
The U.S. vice chairman is touring to Raleigh, North Carolina, to stipulate an agenda for her first 100 days in workplace, the place she is going to name for increasing the kid tax credit score to $6,000 for households with new child kids, reduce taxes for households with youngsters and decrease prescription drug prices, Harris marketing campaign officers stated.
She goals to attract a distinction together with her Nov. 5 election opponent, Republican Donald Trump, on tariffs and taxes, they stated. However she can also discover her agenda runs into resistance from each companies and Congress, who rejected related proposals once they got here from President Joe Biden.
Harris’ financial agenda broadly mirrors Biden’s and goals to attraction to a broad section of the working public who typically see Republicans as higher financial stewards and are anxious over each increased prices and their financial prospects.
A few of her insurance policies, together with those on housing and groceries, have come below assault as ill-considered and overly liberal populism by Republicans and a few business teams.
Inflation fell to beneath 3% for the primary time in almost 3-1/2 years in July, however costs of groceries and shopper items stay nicely above their pre-pandemic ranges.
The Trump marketing campaign has additionally been mulling new tax cuts for middle-class households, and Trump proposed eliminating taxes on tipped wages – one thing Harris did as nicely in Las Vegas final week.
Some progressive financial concepts ballot nicely with voters, however they’ve confirmed powerful to move into regulation. Most of Harris’ and Trump’s financial priorities must safe majority help in Congress. A baby tax credit score invoice handed the Home however stalled within the Senate this 12 months.
Not all parts of Harris’ financial agenda will make it to the Friday speech. Her marketing campaign desires to keep away from dividing voters and attracting assaults from enterprise teams over granular particulars, and might be “strategically ambiguous” in areas reminiscent of power, her aides and advisers stated.
Harris now not helps measures from her short-lived 2020 presidential bid reminiscent of a fracking ban, or Medicare for All, that have been meant to win progressive votes, her advisers stated.
TWEAKING BIDEN’S POLICIES
The proposals are bigger variations of value gouging, housing plans and tax cuts already launched by Biden.
Harris’ plan will embody “the first-ever federal ban on value gouging on meals and groceries,” which her marketing campaign says goals to cease large companies from unfairly exploiting shoppers whereas producing extreme company earnings.
She’s going to direct the Federal Commerce Fee to impose “harsh penalties” on companies that break new limits on value gouging, marketing campaign officers stated.
She will even launch a plan calling for 3 million new building items, define a collection of tax incentives and different measures to encourage constructing houses for first-time homebuyers and provide a $25,000 credit score for such patrons. Harris additionally goals to increase rental help, ban rental price-fixing and cease Wall Avenue companies from shopping for houses in bulk.
Harris will push to decrease healthcare prices, cancel medical debt and tout how her administration negotiated down the costs of 10 top-selling prescribed drugs utilized by Medicare by as a lot as 79%.
She will even draw contrasts with Trump on tax coverage and tariffs and preserve Biden’s promise to not increase taxes on individuals who make $400,000 or much less a 12 months, her marketing campaign stated. Trump slashed the company tax fee to 21% from 35% and applied different tax breaks which can be set to run out subsequent 12 months.
Trump has promised to make the tax cuts everlasting and prompt new across-the-board tariffs on imports, an concept Harris rejects. Trump’s marketing campaign on Wednesday tied Harris to Biden’s financial report.