Article Summary –
Kamala Harris’ new small business proposal aims to support entrepreneurs by expanding tax credits from $5,000 to $50,000, cutting red tape, and easing startup costs, particularly in underserved communities. Local business owners like Megan Cain and Lashonda Fort Modest, alongside lawmakers, backed the plan, contrasting it with the Republican-backed Project 2025, which they argue favors tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of middle-class families. The plan is part of a broader effort to revitalize areas like Durham’s historic Black Wall Street and support the creation of 25 million small business applications, building on the Biden-Harris administration’s previous successes in fostering economic opportunities for marginalized communities.
Local small business owners and lawmakers rally behind Kamala Harris’ new small business proposal, which includes expanded tax credits, cutting red tape, and easing startup costs.
After graduating college, Megan Cain, a Black small business owner, started The ZEN Succulent, a plant and gift shop, as a website in 2012. With limited resources and years of work, she turned the virtual store into a brick-and-mortar shop on Durham’s Black Wall Street.
“Building my business to where it is today required hard work, sacrifices, and a lot of energy,” Cain said.
Last Friday, her shop, filled with over 100 plants and Harris For President signs, became the backdrop for a discussion about the future of small businesses under a Harris administration. If Kamala Harris’ recent plan for small businesses had been available when Cain started, she said it would have been life-changing for her and other startups.
With less than 60 days before the 2024 election, they rejected Republicans’ Project 2025, which offers substantial tax breaks to the wealthy, potentially costing more for middle-class families.
A plan for small business’ success
Harris’ plan, which would expand tax credits for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000, aims to ease financial burdens for new entrepreneurs, especially in underserved communities.
Cain spoke alongside Lashonda Fort Modest, creator of Durham’s first Black-owned winery Melanated Wine, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee, and State Rep. Zach Hawkins about how the new plan could address the challenges entrepreneurs face.
READ MORE: Kamala Harris proposes plan to make it easier for North Carolinians to start small businesses
The vice president also plans to cut through complicated “red tape,” eliminating some regulations and paperwork that slow down small business operations.
For the first eight years, Cain said, business was great until the COVID-19 pandemic halted progress. During the shutdown, millions lost their jobs, and about 200,000 small businesses closed. In 2017, Donald Trump cut more than $40 million in federal support for small business owners, slowing down new business applications.
“Things did not have to be bad,” Cain said. “A major reason small businesses struggled is because of Trump’s abandonment. In the deadly pandemic, Americans and small business owners needed a leader. Instead, Trump failed us.”
RELATED: Project 2025 has Trump’s fingerprints all over it, NC Democrats say.
In Durham, an estimated 25% of Black-owned businesses closed permanently.
“We are not going back,” Rep. Hawkins said. “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will never stop fighting for our communities and small businesses. They care about an America where middle-class North Carolinians have the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead.”
Revitalizing Black Wall Street
(Photo via NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources)
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, downtown Durham was home to “Black Wall Street,” a hub of more than 200 Black-owned businesses. Recent efforts to revitalize the area have caused a resurgence, local business owners say.
“And that’s thanks in part to Vice President Harris working since day one to ensure Black-owned businesses have the capital they need to grow,” Congresswoman Foushee said.
The Biden-Harris administration has implemented several policies that have helped communities historically left behind, such as Durham’s Black Wall Street.
These initiatives include the Economic Opportunity Coalition, which has brought $3 billion to Durham’s small businesses.
In a social media post, Harris said small business owners are more than leaders in business.
“They are civic leaders, community leaders, mentors, and inspirations,” Harris said. “President Biden and I continue to invest in their dreams and ambitions as we support our nation’s small businesses at record rates.”
Harris’ proposal aims to break the current record of 19 million small business applications–the fastest creation of Black-owned small businesses in 30 years–to 25 million applications in her first term as president.
“This is really important for Durham County,” Hawkins said. “This is really important for East Durham downtown and Black Wall Street. Imagine what that could mean for the rest of our state.”
On average, it costs $40,000 to start a new business. For Fort Modest, that number was almost impossible when she started her winery.
“But Vice President Harris knows that’s not enough to account for all the costs associated with starting a business,” Fort Modest said. “And she knows that number doesn’t account for everything our businesses contribute to the local economy.”
Their message is clear: Harris’ proposal offers hope for North Carolina’s new entrepreneurs, while Project 2025 would leave them behind.
“As a proud Black business owner, I understand the stakes of this election,” Fort Modest said. “This election is a choice between two different economic visions: One that builds up the middle class, versus one that helps billionaires and corporations at working families’ expense. And Vice President Harris knows whose side she’s on.”
RELATED: Need to register to vote in North Carolina? Our guide’s got you covered.
—
Read More North Carolina News
