Election 2024: What a Harris Presidency Would Mean for Small Businesses

Disclaimer:
Information
in
the
Business
Financing
Blog
is
provided
for
general
information
only,
does
not
constitute
financial
advice
or
tax
advice,
and
does
not
necessarily
describe
Biz2Credit
commercial
financing
products.
In
fact,
information
in
the
Business
Financing
Blog
often
covers
financial
products
that
Biz2Credit
does
not
currently
offer. 

Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
has
been
hard
at
work
promoting
her
fiscal
ideas
for
small
business
owners
throughout
her
short-lived

presidential
campaign
in
2024.
And
even
before
securing
the
Democratic
nomination,
the
current
second-in-command
has
been
vocal
about
her
advocacy
for
small
business
throughout
her
vice
presidency. 

In
the
weeks
leading
up
to
the
election,
she
has
announced
several
proposals
aimed
to
help
more
entrepreneurs
get
their
operations
off
the
ground,
and
how
she
plans
on
adjusting
the
tax
code
to
be
favorable
for
small
businesses. 

Here’s
what
you
need
to
know
as
a
small
business
owner
if

Harris
wins
the
presidency

in
2024. 

A

Harris
Presidency

and
How
She
Aims
to
Support
Small
Businesses 

The


Kamala
Harris
campaign
website

has
a
section
dedicated
to
the
small
business
community,
and
what
she
aims
to
do
with
her
Opportunity
Economy
agenda.
It
includes
ambitious
goals
like: 

• 
  Grow
  new
  business
  applications
  to
  25
  million
  by
  the
  end
  of
  her
  first
  term 

What
this
means
for
SMBs:
This
could
potentially
represent
not
only
more
competitors
in
your
industry,
but
more
people
setting
out
on
an
entrepreneurial
journey,
reducing
the
available
workforce
to
fill
open
job
listings.
Small
businesses
face
headwinds
finding
qualified
workers,
with

90%
of
business
operators
trying
to
hire
reporting
few
or
no
qualified
applicants
for
the
positions
they
were
trying
to
fill,
according
to
the


NFIB. 

• 
  Expand
  the
  startup
  expense
  tax
  deduction
  for
  new
  businesses
  from
  $5,000
  to
  $50,000,
  and
  expand
  owners’
  ability
  to
  use
  the
  deduction
  immediately 

What
this
means
for
SMBs:
This
could
give
aspiring
entrepreneurs
the
boost
they
need
to
get
started.
The
average
business
startup
costs
about
$40,000,
according
to


Shopify.
However,
critics
say
this
doesn’t
solve
the
root
issue
of
early
business
failure:
cash
flow.
Many
early
businesses
don’t
turn
a
profit
in
their
infancy,
and
if
a
business
folds
before
becoming
profitable,
the
deduction
won’t
be
able
to
be
used.
But
for
those
that
do
make
it
to
profitability,
it
can
be
a
great
way
to
reduce
their
tax
burden. 

• 
  Develop
  a
  standard
  tax
  deduction
  for
  small
  businesses 

What
this
means
for
SMBs:
If
you’re
already
in
business,
you
likely
know
the
headaches
of
filing
business
taxes,
Harris’
plan
could
minimize
your
tax
headaches
with
a
standard
deduction.
This
isn’t
a
new
concept
as
Hillary
Clinton
proposed
this
idea
during
her
2016
presidential
campaign.
It’s

estimated

that
a
small
business
spends
82
hours
and
$2,900
per
year
on
tax
compliance,
according
to
the

Taxpayer
Advocate
Service. 

• 
  Recapitalize
  the
  Treasury
  Department’s
  small
  business
  financing
  program,
  the
  State
  Small
  Business
  Credit
  Initiative
  (SSBCI),
  aimed
  at
  entrepreneurs
  in
  rural
  America,
  middle
  America,
  and
  underserved
  communities 

What
this
means
for
SMBs:
In
a
July
2024
report,
the
SSBCI
reported
it
approved
3,600
businesses
for
capital
funding.
80%
of
those
approved
were
businesses
with
less
than
10
employees.
Harris
aims
to
continue
pushing
more
funding
into
these
programs
to
ensure
small
business
owners
continue
getting
the
funding
they
may
not
otherwise
be
approved
for. 

You
can
read
more
about
her
small
business
policy
breakdown


here

(see
page
46). 

How
This
Could
Impact
Your
Small
Business 

If
Harris
is
the
winner
in
the

presidential
campaign
in
2024,

business
owners
could
potentially
see
significant
tax
changes.
For
example,
the
2017
Tax
Cuts
and
Jobs
Act
signed
during
the
Trump
administration
would
likely
expire
without
extension
at
the
end
of
2025.
The
TCJA
gives
business
owners
the
ability
to
deduct
20%
of
their
costs
before
their
income
“passes
through”
to
their
individual
returns. This
has
significantly
benefitted
small
business
owners,
but
Democrats
have
slammed
the
TCJA
as
merely
a
way
for
business
owners
to
pay
less
taxes.

 

Additionally,
Vice
President
Harris
has
proposed
raising
the
corporate
tax
rate
from
the
current
21%
enacted
by
the
TCJA
to
28%.
This
is
a
walk
back
of
her
35%
proposal
during
her
brief
presidential
campaign
in
the
last
general
election.
The
Harris
campaign
says
this
is
“a
fiscally
responsible
way
to
put
money
back
in
the
pockets
of
working
people.”

 

If
you’re
someone
looking
to
start
a
business,
the
Harris
campaign
looks
to
be
bringing
some
great
incentives.
However,
for
someone
that
is
currently
operating
a
profitable
business,
you
could
see
a
higher
tax
bill
if
Harris
is
the
47th

President
of
the
United
States.

Bottom
Line 

Some
of
Vice
President
Harris’s
proposals
could
have
a
significant
impact
on
your
business
operations
if
she
is
elected

president
in
2024.
You
can
read
more
about
the
policies
she
is
running
with


here. 

We’re
here
to
give
you
the
facts
of
the

US
presidential
candidates

and
their
respective
small
business
policies
to
make
the
best
voting
decision
for
you
and
your
business.