Kamala Harris‘ sit down interview with MSNBC‘s Stephanie Ruhle was an effort to push back against the idea that she hasn’t offered a complete vision and economic plan, as the two went into some details of tax and tariff policy likely to be front and center for the next four years.
Of particular interest to the entertainment industry is her call for raising the corporate tax rate, as she has previously proposed raising it to 28% from the current 21%.
“We’re going to have to raise corporate taxes, and we’re going to have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share,” Harris said. “That’s just it. It’s about paying their fair share. I am not mad at anyone for achieving success, but everyone should pay their fair share, and it is not right that the teachers and the firefighters that I meet every day across the country are paying a higher tax than the richest people in our country.”
Ruhle’s interview was Harris’ first one-on-one sit down with a national network since she became the Democratic nominee. In contrast to CNN’s Dana Bash, who landed the first sit down with Harris and running mate Tim Walz, this interview was focused on the economy, just as Harris delivered a major speech on her plan earlier today in Pittsburgh.
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Harris said that her priority is to boost the middle class, through such things as $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, a $6,000 child tax credit and a $50,000 deduction for small businesses.
While MSNBC generally is friendly territory, and Harris got in key talking points, Ruhle to her credit pressed her on some key concerns. She asked Harris, “How do you find that line to make sure that corporations are paying their fair share, and they are not leaving our country?”
Harris responded, “I work with a lot of CEOs. I have spent a lot of time with CEOs, and I am going to tell you that the business leaders who are actually part of the engine of America’s economy agree that people should pay their fair share. They also agree that when we look back at a plan such as mine, that is about investing in the middle class, investing in new industries, investing in bringing down costs, investing in small businesses, that the overall economy is stronger and everyone benefits.”
Studios and major media companies were among the advocates for lowering the corporate rate in 2017, from 33%, as part of then-President Donald Trump’s major legislative achievement, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
But in an effort to finance the bill, some key deductions were eliminated, like unreimbursed business expenses, something that has hit actors and performers. Limits also were placed on the size of the state and local income tax deduction, to $10,000, something that saw homeowners in higher-tax large states see their taxes go up.
Many of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire in 2025.
Harris did not directly say what she would do about the SALT deduction, but told Ruhle, “when it relates to anybody making less than $400,000 a year, your taxes will not go up,” as she insisted that 100 million Americans will see their taxes cut.
Trump has called for extending his 2017 tax plan, lowering the corporate rate further and even restoring the full SALT deduction. But he’s also called for across-the-board tariffs, something that many economists say will be passed on to consumers.
Harris called Trump’s tariff proposal a “sales tax on the American people.” But Ruhle noted that President Joe Biden has kept some of the tariffs imposed by Trump in place.
“You don’t just throw the idea of just tariffs across the board,” Harris said. “That’s part of the problem with Donald Trump, frankly. And I say with all sincerity — he’s just not very serious about how he thinks about these issues. And one must be serious and have a real plan. It’s not just about some talking point ending in an exclamation at a political rally, but actually putting the thought into what will be the return on the investment, what will be the economic impact on everyday people.”
By the end, Ruhle credited Harris for laying “out your policy in great detail.” Little was said, though, about the likely political environment if Harris wins. She’s likely to face a divided Congress, with Democrats facing a very uphill battle to retain the Senate, and Republicans likely going out of their way to block her agenda.
The MSNBC host did get in a question about Harris’ experience working at McDonalds, something that Trump has tried to turn into his latest version of birthergate, claiming that she never actually did work there.
“At any point in your life, have you served two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun?” Ruhle asked.
“I have,” Harris said, adding that “part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family. I worked there as a student. …I think part of the difference between me and my opponent includes our perspective on the needs of the American people, and what our responsibility is to meet those needs.”
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