WASHINGTON -- Vice President Kamala Harris plans to propose on Wednesday a tenfold increase in federal tax incentives for small business startup expenses, from $5,000 to $50,000, hoping to help spur a record 25 million new small business applications over her four-year term should she win the presidency in November .

Vice President Harris is set to unveil a new economic plan during a campaign event in the Portsmouth region of New Hampshire. This marks a departure from her recent focus on Midwestern and Southern states in her bid against former President Donald Trump.

A Harris campaign official, speaking on the condition of anonymity while discussing a policy proposal not yet made public, stated Tuesday that this change would address the average $40,000 cost of starting a business. The plan would allow new businesses to defer claiming the deduction until they achieve profitability, maximizing its impact on reducing their tax burden.

Such policy changes would require approval from Congress. However, a series of tax cuts enacted during the Trump administration are scheduled to expire at the end of next year, potentially creating an environment where lawmakers may be receptive to new tax policies. This proposal could help Harris demonstrate her commitment to entrepreneurs even as she advocates for increased corporate tax rates.

Since President Joe Biden announced his decision not to seek reelection and endorsed Harris in July, the Vice President has focused her campaigning on the “ blue wall ” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, which have been crucial in Democratic victories in recent presidential elections.

She has also made frequent visits to Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, all of which Biden narrowly won in 2020, along with North Carolina, which last voted Democratic in a presidential election in 2008. Harris is aiming to secure a victory in North Carolina, which Trump won in 2016. Biden won New Hampshire by a margin of 7 percentage points in 2020, although Trump came close to winning it against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

"The cost of living in New Hampshire is extremely high, their energy bills are among the highest in the nation, and their housing market is the least affordable in history,” Trump posted last week on his social media platform.

Harris' team claims that securing 25 million new business applications within a four-year term, if she wins the presidency, would surpass the approximately 19 million applications filed since Biden took office. And those were millions more than the previous four years under Trump. The vice president's goal would be a record for new small business applications — but records only go back about 20 years.

Applications to start a business don't always result in the actual creation of small businesses. However, Harris' plan could prevent newly formed small businesses from incurring additional debt, which, in an environment of high interest rates, could contribute to their success.

In the weeks since Harris assumed the top position on the Democratic ticket, she has presented relatively few major policy proposals — attempting to find a political balance between injecting new energy into the campaign and continuing to support many of the Biden administration proposals she helped champion as vice president.

Harris’ small business plan follows her announcement last month of proposed steps to combat inflation by working to lower grocery prices , and to utilize tax cuts and other incentives to encourage homeownership. The vice president has also proposed eliminating federal taxes on tips for service industry workers, an idea first proposed by Trump.

The plan she is unveiling on Wednesday further calls for developing a standard deduction for small businesses intended to save their owners time when filing their taxes, and making it easier to obtain occupational licenses — allowing people to work across state lines and businesses to expand into new states. Harris also aims to provide federal incentives to encourage state and local governments to ease their regulations.

To encourage businesses to grow beyond urban and suburban centers, Harris is proposing a new small business expansion fund. This fund would help community banks and federal agencies cover the interest costs for small businesses during their expansion phase or when they are creating new jobs. The program aims to specifically benefit areas that typically receive less investment.