Saginaw City Councilwoman Priscilla Garcia recently joined local Latino small business owners Maria Gomez and Armando Ramos for a press conference highlighting the contrast between Vice President Harris’ new proposals that will bolster small businesses—and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda that will champion wealthy corporations over Michigan small businesses. The Vice President’s new proposals, released last week, feature a dramatic tenfold expansion of tax relief for new small businesses and aims to help spur 25 million new small business applications in her first term.
Vice President Harris believes that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. That’s why she proposed a dramatic tenfold expansion of tax relief for starting a small business and new measures to cut red tape that too often makes life harder for small business owners. In stark contrast, Donald Trump and his Project 2025 plan will raise costs for the middle class while giving billionaires and big corporations a tax cut.
“Kamala Harris knows too often entrepreneurs face financial hurdles that are too high—and that prevent them from getting their business off the ground. That’s why she plans to expand the startup expense deduction for small businesses from $5,000 to $50,000—a massive boost that will help so many Michigan entrepreneurs who are taking the risk of starting their own businesses,” said Saginaw City Council Member Priscilla Garcia. “Trump’s record is one [of] prioritizing tax handouts to his billionaire backers and the biggest corporations at the expense of small businesses and working people. And Trump’s plans for his second term are even worse—independent economists and experts have made clear that his agenda would [raise] costs on middle-class families by $4,000 a year.”
“Whether offering new federal support, reducing unnecessary red tape, or expanding access to affordable loans, Harris-Walz are committed to give future business owners a real chance to succeed,” said Maria Gomez, owner of Maria’s Mexican Restaurant. “Under Trump, the focus was on giving the corporations all the breaks, while the small businesses like mine were left behind. From unfair tax policies to rolling back protections [that] help level the playing field for folks like us, we’ve seen the damage that can be done when leaders prioritize the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations over the rest of us. But with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, we have a team that’s truly fighting for small businesses — including our proud Latino-owned small business and our families who are fighting to build something for our future.”
“What’s most important to me about [Harris’] plan though is that it’s focused on helping folks like me in the city of Saginaw. Kamala Harris’ agenda will direct one-third of federal [contract] dollars toward small businesses, especially expanding opportunities for rural and other underserved small businesses,” said Armando Ramos, owner of Tony’s Takeout. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump wants to drag us backwards. He wants people like me to pay more in taxes than the wealthiest Americans — give me a break. He has yet to own up to the fact that his tax scam let billionaires pay less in taxes [than] working Americans. He demeans Latino folks left and right. And he has never missed an opportunity to help his billionaire friends and the biggest corporations at the expense of the little guy.”
