DNC Deputy National Press Secretary Nina Raneses released the following statement: 

“Vice President Harris’ new small business plan will help ensure that every American has the chance to succeed — bolstering the small business boom our Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs are already experiencing under the Biden-Harris administration. By expanding tax relief for small businesses tenfold, cutting unnecessary red tape, and setting a goal of 25 million new business applications in her first term, Vice President Harris’ small business plan would be monumental for AANHPI entrepreneurs. Our communities won’t soon forget how Donald Trump’s MAGAnomics agenda prioritized greedy corporate executives and the ultra-wealthy while leaving AANHPI businesses behind, especially during the pandemic when they needed the help most. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and our AANHPI small business owners will continue to thrive thanks to the Harris-Walz small business plan.” 

Vice President Harris is charting a new way forward for AANHPI entrepreneurs with a historic plan to support America’s small businesses.

Jonathan Lemire, MSNBC: “Kamala Harris is proposing a ten-fold increase in the small business tax deduction for startup costs, a new weapon in her arsenal as she vies with Donald Trump to show voters who can best assuage their anxieties about the economy”

Joey Garrison, USA Today: “Kamala Harris’ push to jump-start small businesses: 

– expanding tax deduction for startup expenses from $5K to $50K

– measures to cut “red tape” to start small businesses such as time to file taxes

– goal of 25M new small biz applications in first term”

Jeff Stein, Washington Post: “New – Kamala Harris is proposing a $50K tax deduction for startup expenses (10X increase to current deduction)

New rollout includes:

– Incentives to get local govs 2 cut red tape

– Occupational licensing reform

– CDFI expansion

More econ policies coming”

Politico: “Harris targets small business tax break in contrast with Trump’s corporate tax cuts”

New York Times: “Harris, Proposing a Tax Break, Makes a Play for Small-Business Owners”

Bloomberg: “Harris to Expand Small Business Tax Relief to Boost Startups”

Wall Street Journal: “Kamala Harris to Propose Expansion of Small-Business Startup Tax Deduction”

Axios: “Harris readies aggressive tax boost for new small businesses”

Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, AANHPI small businesses continue to thrive.

Chiling Tong, President and CEO of the National Asian Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship: “AAPI businesses have benefited from a stronger economy, with over 2.91 million AAPI owned businesses and counting, fueling job creation and economic growth in their communities.”

White House Fact Sheet: “Promoting Economic Opportunity for AA and NHPI Communities. By signing into law the historic American Rescue Plan, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act implementing robust regulatory reform, the Biden-Harris Administration has led the most equitable economic recovery on record, creating more than 12 million jobs since coming to office and helping create new economic opportunities for all Americans, including AA and NHPI workers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs.”

White House Fact Sheet: “In FY23, the U.S. Small Business Administration backed 7,500 loans to AAPI-owned businesses, which total to more than $6.4 billion. That means total loans are up 44% under the Biden-Harris Administration, and total loan dollars are up 36%.”

“In January 2023, WHIAANHPI – in collaboration with the Small Business Administration, the National Asian / Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship, and federal, state, and local partners – launched a series of regional economic summits to connect AA and NHPI business owners, entrepreneurs, and community leaders directly with federal resources such as contracting and employment opportunities.”

Trump doesn’t care about small businesses or the hardworking Americans who run them — he only cares about himself and his wealthy donor friends. 

New York Times Opinion: “Republicans argue that this [Trump and Republicans’ tax plan] will benefit small businesses. In fact, a large majority of small-business owners already have personal tax rates below 25 percent. This provision would aid a small group of developers, investors and other tycoons who work in professions or industries where it is relatively easy to set up pass-through businesses. Like, yes, Mr. Trump and his family, who make their money from one such industry: real estate.”

Economic Policy Institute: “The TCJA overwhelmingly benefited the rich and corporations while overlooking working families”

Vox: “Trump said this tax break was for small businesses. It’s giving $17 billion to millionaires this year”

“If many average Americans aren’t noticing or loving the tax cut bill yet, it might be understandable — it benefits the wealthy by design. And a congressional report released this week shows that one specific new deduction for so-called ‘pass-through’ companies is heavily benefiting the rich. … The Republican tax bill cut the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and disproportionately benefits corporations and the wealthy.”

Trump wants to double down on his extreme MAGAnomics tax scam, threatening to line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy and big corporations while leaving AANHPI families behind. 

Trump: “I will never let the Trump tax cuts … I will never let them be taken away.”

Trump: “You’re all people that have a lot of money … You’re rich as hell …We’re gonna give you tax cuts.”

Trump: “We will replace Biden’s tax hikes with the beautiful Trump tax cuts. You know, we have to extend the tax cuts.”

Trump on whether his second term tax policies would echo those of his first term: “Yes, and I’d do even more taxes.”

Washington Post: “The former president’s closest economic advisers are plotting an aggressive new set of tax cuts to push on the campaign trail and from the Oval Office if he wins a second term. Trump and his advisers have discussed deeper cuts to both individual and corporate tax rates that would build on his controversial 2017 tax law. … Trump’s advisers, though, have discussed proposals to make deeper cuts to the overall corporate tax rate, potentially to as low as 15 percent, or to use the revenue from the proposed tariffs to pay a dividend to U.S. households. Further cutting corporate taxes … would primarily benefit large firms.”

Bloomberg: “[Trump] intends to center his economic plans on extending and deepening the Republican tax cuts from 2017.”

Vanity Fair: “Donald Trump Wants to Give His Favorite Corporations Another Giant Tax Cut in a Second Term: Report”

When hate crimes against Asian Americans increased during the pandemic, Trump amped up his racist rhetoric against Asian American communities — and he left business owners of color behind at the same time.

NPR: “But a new report from the Small Business Administration’s inspector general found that businesses owned by people of color may not have received loans as intended under the Paycheck Protection Program. There was no evidence, the report said, that the SBA told lenders to prioritize business owners in ‘underserved’ markets, including business owners of color — something the CARES Act had specifically instructed the SBA to do.”

ABC News: “Trump’s ‘Chinese Virus’ tweet helped lead to rise in racist anti-Asian Twitter content: Study”

“The Asian American community has experienced a striking rise in incidents of hate since the onset of COVID-19, according to officials and advocates, and critics say the former president’s repeated use of ‘China Virus’ and other terms helped fuel an environment of hatred.”

“Researchers also found that the timing of the former president’s tweet was significant. The first time he used ‘ChineseVirus’ was March 16, 2020, and the following week saw an increase in anti-Asian hashtags and a rise in hate crimes. ”

New York Times: “Trump Defends Using ‘Chinese Virus’ Label, Ignoring Growing Criticism”

NBC News: “Trump can’t claim ‘Kung Flu’ doesn’t affect Asian Americans in this climate, experts say”

CNBC: “‘We were scared’: Asian-owned small businesses devastated by double whammy of Covid and hate crime”

PBS NewsHour: “Asian-owned businesses say they’re reeling from hate and violence, operating in fear”

Boston College study: “‘Trump and conservative media had very thoroughly connected COVID to China specifically, so it was surprising to see a decrease in visits to other Asian restaurants as well,’ Krupenkin said. ‘We tested this more thoroughly and found that many Americans misidentify other Asian restaurants as Chinese, which likely explains the spillover effects we saw.’”

Reuters: “Asian-American businesses suffer outsized pandemic toll”

“Language barriers and a dearth of banking relationships made it difficult for some business owners to access government aid, even as they coped with an added layer of fear amid a surge in hate crimes linked to racist rhetoric that blames Asians for the coronavirus.”