Central PA business owners praise Kamala Harris’ plan to make it easier to start small businesses

Kamala Harris proposed this week a tenfold increase in federal tax credits to help small businesses cover startup costs and plans to help 25 million businesses in her first term. 

Small business owners from the Harrisburg area gathered at the Millworks, a local brewery and art gallery, to highlight Vice President Kamala Harris’ economic proposals to help small business owners cover their startup costs. 

Harris announced her plan on Wednesday and it would include a tenfold expansion, from $5,000 to $50,000, of federal tax credits to help new businesses cover startup costs, aiming to help 25 million new small businesses over the next four years. 

“For a lot of people, it takes $40,000 to start a small business, and that is just too much,” Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas said during a press conference on Friday.

“That’s why Vice President Harris is offering $50,000 in tax relief to help entrepreneurs realize their dream of owning a business, and she’s not stopping there. She’s also cutting unnecessary red tape with a goal of spurring 25 million new business applications in her first term.” 

Harris plans to have 10 million more businesses apply for the expanded tax credits than under Donald Trump’s former administration. 

Andrea Grove, owner of Elementary Coffee in Harrisburg, explained the hardships her company has had to endure over the past few years between the pandemic and the Broad Street Market fire, which has closed one of their locations for the past year. 

“We know the stress and the pride that is involved with being small business owners firsthand,” Grove said. “It’s personal. It’s everything to us, our families and our employees. It’s our livelihood.”

“Kamala Harris wants to give small business owners a $50,000 tax break to help get their businesses started. That will allow people to build startups and enrich their communities because we all know when small businesses thrive, the entire economy thrives.”

Those in attendance on Friday also took the time to warn residents of Trump’s Project 2025 and how it would impact small business owners. Trump has repeatedly called for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which could jeopardize healthcare coverage for millions of Pennsylvania residents. 

“It’s been seen that Donald Trump fights for billionaires and big corporations, and he has proven time and again he will always prioritize them over small business owners,” Grove said.

“His second term would be no different. As president, he repeatedly called for budget cuts to programs that help small business owners. The Project 2025 agenda would rip healthcare coverage and other benefits away from millions of small business owners.”