Accounting
Harris economic proposals envision tax cuts, subsidies
Aaron Schwartz/Photographer: Aaron Schwartz/Blo
Vice president Kamala Harris will propose sweeping new federal subsidies for parents, homebuyers, and Americans with low-incomes alongside new programs to curb increases in rent and grocery prices as she seeks to convince voters that she would act swiftly to address one of their top concerns — rising consumer costs.
The Democratic nominee, who will unveil the plan Friday afternoon in North Carolina as part of her three-month sprint to Election Day, plans to target some of the core expenses of daily life — the costs of food, housing and prescription drugs — while overhauling the federal tax code.
Harris’ plan would expand the Child Tax Credit to $3,600 from $2,000 per dependent, with a super-sized $6,000 credit for newborns. Harris also proposes expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-wage workers who don’t have children, and increasing subsidies for those who purchase insurance on federal health exchanges.
The vice president also envisions new price controls on groceries, and expanding limits on out-of-pocket prescription drug prices to all Americans. Tens of billions of federal dollars would be spent to improve the supply of federal housing, while Harris is pledging to implement new rules to prevent corporate and landlord price gouging.
The effort comes as the Democratic presidential nominee rapidly tries to define herself for the American public, with less than three months until the November election. Her message is an acknowledgment that many Americans are unhappy with the economic status quo, and a marked shift from President Joe Biden’s rigorous defense of their administration’s economic record, which contributed to Democratic leaders’ concerns that voters saw him as out of touch.
Economists are divided on the practicality and efficacy of some of Harris’ proposals — and particularly price cap efforts.
The World Bank in 2022 described temporary price controls as “
Other elements of Harris’ proposals would carry a substantial price tag.
The expanded Child Tax Credit alone would likely cost hundreds of billions or trillions of dollars over the next decade, though it could garner bipartisan support: Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance, also proposed increasing the credit to $5,000 per child. The politically popular tax break is set to decrease in value at the end of 2025, meaning that whoever wins the White House will face pressure to revive it.
Still, advisers believe that concentrating on pocketbook issues offers a favorable frame to voters who still rank the economy among their biggest concerns. It’s also an opportunity for Harris to highlight the years she spent as California attorney general advocating for consumers in price-fixing cases.
And even as economists point to supply-chain disruptions and the federal government’s pandemic-era stimulus spending as major factors in price increases, Democrats argue that inflation, which peaked at a 40-year high of 9.1% in mid-2022, has been driven by corporate profit-padding. Many Americans agree, Harris’ advisers have found in polling and focus groups.
Trump, looking to counter expected attention regarding the proposals, held a press conference Thursday at his New Jersey golf club where he labeled the Harris plan as “communist” and warned efforts to control grocery prices would lead to “food shortages, rationing, hunger, dramatically more inflation.”
Light on specifics
While Harris will offer some policy details in her speech, slated for Friday afternoon in Raleigh, she’s not expected to weigh down the address with too many specifics. Instead, allies say, it’s more important politically to deliver a message showing that she understands voters’ economic struggles and will fight to alleviate them.
“We’re more interested in the storytelling than the precise policy,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has worked closely with the Harris campaign on economic messaging, drawing on weekly polling conducted with Data for Progress. Harris is right to start with grocery prices, he said, because they are “the number-one pain point in peoples’ lives by far.”
Harris heads into Friday’s speech with a narrow polling advantage on the economy, a rare position for a Democratic presidential candidate.
Forty-two percent of registered voters surveyed for a Financial Times-University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Economic wariness
Recent U.S. economic data has generally been strong. Stocks
Still, there have been a few signs of concern that have
Despite the generally positive economic news, voters have a bleak outlook. In the Financial Times-University of Michigan poll, 73% of those surveyed described American economic conditions as negative.
While Harris is promising to fight drugmakers from the Oval Office, she can also point to what the Biden administration has already done to cut costs. For the first time since he dropped out of the presidential race, Biden
Harris says she would push the government to negotiate additional savings faster, and cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for all Americans.
Citrin Cooperman announced today it will receive a significant investment from Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, which will acquire a majority stake in the firm from New Mountain Capital.
The deal is the first instance of an accounting firm to transfer private equity ownership from one group to another in the U.S. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are excited to have reached an agreement for Blackstone to invest in Citrin Cooperman as we enter our next chapter of growth,” Citrin Cooperman CEO Alan Badey said in a statement Tuesday. “Blackstone will help us make additional investments in expanded service offerings and technology as we deliver on our continued commitment to best-in-class firm culture and providing an exceptional client experience. We thank New Mountain for their years of partnership in helping to build and support our business.”
Allan Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, who advised on the deal, commented: “For many in the profession, the biggest question was whether something like this could ever happen, and my belief is there will now be many other transactions like this in the future. Kudos to Citrin Cooperman, New Mountain Capital and Blackstone on making history today.”
New Mountain first
“We are proud of our successful partnership with Citrin Cooperman, and we thank the management team, partners and staff of Citrin Cooperman for all we have accomplished together over the last three years,” Andre Moura and Nikhil Devulapalli, managing directors at New Mountain, said in a statement. “We look forward to seeing Citrin Cooperman continue to thrive for the benefit of all its clients and stakeholders.”
“The Citrin Cooperman partners and staff have done an exceptional job making the firm a leader through an unwavering commitment to excellence and client service,” Eli Nagler, a senior managing director at Blackstone, and Kelly Wannop, a managing director at Blackstone, said in a statement. “We are excited to invest in the business to help it continue to provide the highest quality offerings moving forward.”
Deutsche Bank Securities is serving as financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher are serving as legal advisors to Blackstone. Guggenheim Securities is serving as lead financial advisor to New Mountain and Citrin Cooperman. Koltin Consulting Group is serving as an additional financial adviser to both parties. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Zukerman Gore Brandeis & Crossman and Hunton Andrews Kurth are serving as legal advisers to New Mountain and Citrin Cooperman.
“Accounting is the best place to start because it’s the purest form of finance,” wrote Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Man Poor Dad series of personal finance books. “You can’t fool it; it’s empirical.”
This insight resonates deeply in today’s business environment, where organizations must navigate macroeconomic uncertainties, technological disruptions and transformational opportunities. Amid these buffeting currents, finance and accounting have evolved from a number-crunching function to a strategic and consultative one, playing three critical roles — safeguarding assets, streamlining operations and influencing future growth. As we move into 2025, five key trends will define the F&A landscape and its ability to drive strategic value.
Johnson, who has been in her position for six-and-a-half years, said on
“The past 6.5 years have been nothing short of transformative. I am deeply grateful to have been part of such a visionary organization that consistently pushes the boundaries of innovation in the accounting & finance profession,” she said in her post.
In an email she said that the timing was right for her to pursue other interests she is passionate about. However, while she is stepping away from her position, she plans to stay involved and collaborate with the AICPA and CPA.com on strategic initiatives. When asked about specifics in an email, Johnson said she will still be very involved in the AICPA/CPA.com Startup Accelerator program (which she said was the most rewarding part of working at CPA.com) and serve as an overall strategic advisor to the organization working on key initiatives like the AI Symposium and Digital CPA.
In her goodbye message on LinkedIn, she thanked the AICPA leadership for helping her grow as a professional, and gave particular thanks to her research team, saying they are the true embodiment of change makers.
Regarding her immediate plans, Johnson told Accounting Today she plans to take a few months to reset and invest in some personal development interests. She added that she also completed her NACD Corporate Director certification and has been accepted to the Harvard Business School’s Executive Program on Private Equity and Venture Capitalism for the first quarter of 2025.
When asked about what her proudest achievement was during her tenure, she pointed to the AICPA Town Hall.
“I’m most proud of being part of the team that developed and produced the AICPA Town Hall. It’s inception was at the beginning of COVID; so many practitioners needed guidance on how to support clients and navigate all of the uncertainty. To see what the Series has grown into is nothing short of incredible,” she told Accounting Today.
Johnson joined CPA.com in 2018 as a strategic advisor before, in 2021, becoming senior director of strategy and innovation and then, in 2022, vice president of strategy and innovation. Prior to her joining CPA.com, she was the founder of accounting-focused tech consultancy firm Blue Ocean.
Accounting Today named Johnson a “
Among other accomplishments, she was a major force behind CPA.com’s
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