US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Photo / Getty Images
US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Photo / Getty Images
US Vice-President Kamala Harris is proposing to increase the corporate tax rate to 28 per cent from 21 per cent if she wins a November election against Republican rival Donald Trump, her campaign says.
Harris campaign spokesman James Singer said the move would be part of “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share”.
When Trump was President, he slashed the corporate tax rate to 21 per cent from 35 per cent and implemented other tax breaks that are set to expire next year.
Trump has vowed to make the cuts permanent.
Changes to the US tax code require approval by Congress.
Democrats and Republicans are in a tight battle for control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, both up for grabs in the November 5 election.
Harris, a Democrat, has pledged to maintain US President Joe Biden’s promise not to raise taxes on people who make US$400,000 ($654,000) or less a year.
In an economic policy speech last week, Harris outlined proposals to cut taxes for most people in the US, ban “price gouging” by grocers and build more affordable housing as part of the “opportunity economy” she plans to pursue if she wins the White House.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in North Carolina. Photo / Getty Images
Trump was set to reiterate on Monday he would block Nippon Steel’s planned purchase of US Steel if he were elected president and move to rescind the current administration’s power plant pollution rules.
Trump in February had signalled he would move to block the deal.
Trump will tell workers in York, Pennsylvania, that if elected he “will stop Japan from buying US Steel”, according to prepared remarks released by the campaign.
Biden in March said it is vital for US Steel “to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated”.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency published final rules targeting carbon dioxide, air and water pollution from power plants that it says could cut more than 1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2047.
Trump will call the rule part of an “anti-American energy crusade” that he would seek to repeal and “instead of shutting down power plants, we will open dozens more”.
Trump will say in his remarks that he will “issue rapid approvals for new energy infrastructure - and we will embrace all forms of energy, including nuclear. To power our country into the future, including the electricity demands of AI and cryptocurrencies, we will make a historic commitment to bringing ‘Advanced Small Modular Nuclear Reactors’ online.”
Biden, forced to abandon his re-election bid, will urge fellow Democrats at their convention on Monday to unite behind Harris in the fight for the White House.
Democratic presidential candidate, US Vice-President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign in Rochester, Pennsylvania. Photo / Getty Images
While Democrats gathered at United Center, home to Chicago’s basketball and hockey teams, hundreds of protesters assembled at a nearby park to pressure the party to drop military support for Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s appearance at the start of the four-day event will serve as a symbolic passing of the torch to his No. 2 after he quit the race under pressure from top Democrats worried that the 81-year-old incumbent was too old to win or serve another four years.
Due to speak at 10.50pm Eastern time on Monday (12.50pm AEST on Tuesday), Biden is expected to portray Trump as a threat to democracy while touting the achievements of the Biden-Harris administration.
Sources said Harris, 59, was likely to join Biden on stage.
Harris will formally accept the nomination on Thursday night with a speech.
