New York, USA.– Business leaders are hopeful Kamala Harris can provide some relief from the Biden administration’s regulatory-heavy agenda, but are concerned about gaps in her policy record.
The Vice President is better known for her stances on social issues than corporate policy. From her time as California attorney general to the Senate, Harris has a track record in many of the central policy debates in corporate America, particularly in the tech sector.
There are also major unknowns, particularly over his views on tax, trade and antitrust issues.
On virtually every issue, Harris offers a contrast to the Trump-Vance ticket.
In many, executives anticipate her continuing the policies of the Biden administration, but perhaps with a more pro-business bent.
Technology
The tech industry is cautiously optimistic about Harris’s candidacy, said Julie Samuels, president and CEO of the trade group Tech:NYC.
As California’s top law enforcement official from 2011 to 2017, Harris “worked closely with the tech community,” Samuels recalled, “sometimes as an adversary, but always as a partner.”
Harris’ record shows she has both challenged and supported technology. In 2012, her office sued eBay, arguing its hiring practices were anticompetitive. She also pushed for tougher rules on cyberbullying and privacy. As a senator in 2018, she introduced a bill to promote quantum computing.
Harris also has personal ties to the tech sector. Her sister Maya Harris is married to Uber’s chief legal officer Tony West, and her niece Meena Harris’ husband is tech veteran Nik Ajagu.
Also as California attorney general, Harris created a dedicated privacy enforcement and prosecution unit.
Artificial intelligence
Harris, a key figure in shaping AI policy in the Biden administration, has sought to balance safety with fostering the development of the technology.
Now, there are some signs that it wants to go beyond setting voluntary safety standards for the industry (the administration’s initial approach) and establish formal guidelines.
Christopher Savoie, CEO of Zapata AI, believes Harris “views voluntary commitments made by AI companies as just a starting point.
“It has been pushing for more concrete measures to make AI safer without stifling innovation,” he said.
Taxes
As vice president, Harris has supported the Biden administration’s tax goals, including making corporations pay more. As a presidential candidate in 2020, she backed repealing the Republican tax law that lowered corporate tax rates.
The Biden administration has been seeking to impose new taxes on corporations and high-income households to pay for expiring extensions of tax cuts for American families.
Meanwhile, most CFOs expect Trump to implement some form of tax relief if elected. Trump recently told executives he wanted a 20% corporate tax rate, up from the current 21%.
CFOs are planning scenarios for how each party’s fiscal policies could affect the economy.
Risk capital
Venture capitalists are encouraged by Harris’ closeness to the tech industry and hope she will moderate what they see as the Biden administration’s heavy-handed policies.
Trade
According to experts, Harris’s views on trade issues are also not clearly defined. Her record suggests she wants to balance free trade with protection for workers and the environment.
“President Biden’s position was well-known and articulated very clearly. Former President Trump’s position, too,” said Chatham Financial’s Dhargalkar. With Harris, there is a sense that she broadly supports the current approach, but with few details.
In 2020, Harris voted against President Trump’s deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying the pact had insufficient environmental protections. She has also criticized NAFTA itself and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Private capital
Harris’s sparse comments on private equity suggest she may favor a less adversarial approach than the Biden administration, but industry lobbyists say her record is too weak to warrant that.
This year, Harris has spoken positively about government initiatives to combine public money with private capital. In 2020, she favored giving private equity- and venture-backed companies access to pandemic relief funds, breaking with the progressive wing of her party.
He has given little indication of whether he will continue the Biden administration’s push to stymie private equity takeovers or try to end the tax treatment of carried interest, as progressive Democrats have promised for some 20 years.
Editing of the original article
#Harris #record #fuels #optimism #uncertainty
