Sen. Kamala Harris, a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, wants to create a new $6,000 "refundable" tax credit for families earning up to $100,000, meaning they could claim the credit even if it's more than they owe. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images congress Kamala Harris proposes big new middle-class tax break

Sen. Kamala Harris, a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, today proposed a big new tax break for average Americans.

The California Democrat wants to create a new $6,000 tax credit for families earning up to $100,000. The break would be “refundable,” which means people could claim it even if it exceeded their tax liabilities, by receiving a check from the government for the difference.


She wants to allow recipients to claim it throughout the year, up to $500 per month, rather than having to wait to get a lump sum after they file their taxes.

Harris says it's intended to help families cope with the cost of living, though it's also surely designed to contrast with Republicans' recent tax-code rewrite.

"We should put money back into the pockets of American families to address rising costs of childcare, housing, tuition and other expenses," Harris said in a statement. "Our tax code should reflect our values and instead of more tax breaks for the top 1 percent and corporations, we should be lifting up millions of American families."

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The plan would be pricey, and it comes at a time when the government is already running a nearly $800 billion budget deficit.

Harris's office said it doesn't yet know exactly how much the plan would cost, but that Harris would finance it in part by repealing the parts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that benefit people earning more than $100,000. She would also impose a new bank tax on institutions with more than $50 billion in assets.

The plan would increase the number of Americans — currently about 44 percent — who are effectively excused from paying income taxes.



CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story understated the amount of assets a bank would need to be subject to the proposed bank tax. It is $50 billion in assets.