Harris Calls for Repeal of Trump Tax Code at Campaign Stop

(CN) - Sen. Kamala Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign visited several rural communities and urban centers in South Carolina Friday and Saturday, bolstering her support base in an effort to gain more traction with progressives, minorities and young voters in a traditionally red state.

Harris said if elected, one of her first initiatives would be to pass her “Lift Act,” designed to revamp the current tax code to favor middle class working Americans.

“For families that earn less than $100,000 per year they will receive a $500 monthly tax credit. The current tax code is not working for working people. This is not a handout, it’s a lift up,” Harris said.

The California senator said she will repeal the Trump administration’s tax code, which benefits the top economic tier. Harris plans to reverse the current taxation system so that her tax code pays for itself. According to Harris, the administration’s current code costs taxpayers $1 trillion annually.

“They don’t need that money, working American families need that money,” Harris said at the Charleston Black Business Expo held on Saturday in North Charleston. “With my tax code reform, 60 percent of black families across the nation would be lifted out of poverty.”

She also calls for free Medicare-for-all, free education at community colleges and increasing the national minimum wage to $15 per hour.  She also promises to increase funding to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which provides oversight and enforcement to ensure financial lending institutions are not defrauding consumers.

“This administration has rolled back the teeth of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It no longer tracks lending to businesses. Without oversight we don’t know if (financial institutions) are fulfilling their responsibility. Without sufficient oversight, there is no way deal with the bad actors,” Harris said.

Funding education nationwide is another focus of Harris’ platform. She said when a business invests money it considers the return on the dollar, not how much it costs. Harris said the federal government should invest in educating the youth in order to continue to be competitive in the global economy.

“It is a fundamental civil right for all American children to have access to a robust education. The current model where education is funded by the local tax base is failing. The schools in tax bases that don’t have enough money are the very ones that need more resources,” she said. “I am for increasing teacher’s salaries.”

While Harris already has several endorsements from her fellow California colleagues, Washington D.C.’s Attorney General Karl Racine also announced his support for her campaign on Thursday.

As attorney general, Racine has used the model developed by Harris in California to build an independent office, implement data-driven reforms to the juvenile justice system and return millions of dollars to consumers harmed by scams and abusive business practices, he stated in his announcement.

“Senator Harris has the range and ability to attract support from each corner of this country, from the party loyalists, to hardcore progressives, to women and young voters of every color, class, race. She also has a rare ability to empathize with all people, including the most vulnerable in our country.” Racine said.

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