House Republicans’ tax bill, which leadership aims to pass by Memorial Day, is a major victory for American small businesses, the backbone of our economy. Republicans should unite to support it and usher in a new economic Golden Age.
The bill makes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent, locking in lower tax rates, increased tax revenues, and a more vibrant Main Street. By doing so, the legislation prevents a 22 percent average tax hike on American families starting next year — one of the biggest tax increases in American history.
The bill expands the TCJA in numerous crucial ways. It increases the small business tax deduction used by 26 million entrepreneurs annually from 20 percent to 23 percent — a tax cut Job Creators Network has long been the leading voice for. The bill also restores 100 percent immediate expensing, allowing businesses to write off investments, expansion, and modernization.
A key part of the bill is what’s not in it — namely, tax increases backed by some RINOs on successful small businesses, 95 percent of which are structured as pass-throughs and pay taxes at individual rates.
These tax cuts empower Main Street to expand, hire, raise wages, and reinvest in their communities. Observe the small business boom after the TCJA passed: Nicole Wolter, president of HM Manufacturing in Illinois, was able to purchase $750,000 in new, cutting-edge equipment and hire four new employees to run the machines. She had the capital required to increase wages and bonuses and offer 100 percent paid healthcare.
Guy Berkebile, chairman of Guy Chemical in Pennsylvania, was able to build a new laboratory, invest in new chemical compounding equipment, and purchase updated packaging lines. He had the extra earnings required to offer higher bonuses, a new 401(k) program, and hire dozens of new workers. By cutting taxes further, the Republican tax bill would do even more good.
Extrapolate these stories nationwide, and it’s easy to see why the small business provisions in this bill are estimated to create over 1 million new Main Street jobs, generate $750 billion in economic growth at American small businesses, and boost GDP by 3.3 percent to 3.8 percent.
No wonder American small businesses support legislation making the TCJA permanent by a margin of four to one, according to Job Creators Network’s national polling. More than three-quarters of respondents back expanding the small business deduction. And more than 20 percent say they’ll expand if the tax cuts are passed.
While the final tax bill that heads to President Trump’s desk will likely change after further Congressional negotiations, these key small business provisions — the expanded deduction, 100 percent immediate expensing, and locked-in lower rates — must remain. Any legislator willing to sacrifice them is doing nothing less than selling out American small businesses.
Contrary to Democrat and media spin, these tax cuts directly help the middle class. For example, the small business deduction phases out for non-manufacturing businesses at a few hundred thousand dollars of earnings, meaning it’s off limits for the rich. Those who benefit are middle-class entrepreneurs — the plumber who employs 15 people, the restaurateur who sponsors the local Little League team, the record-store owner bringing life back to downtown.
Fiscal concerns should also not hold up tax cuts. Inflation-adjusted federal tax revenues (not including tariffs) have significantly grown since the TCJA passed. Tax collections for fiscal 2024 were half a trillion dollars higher than CBO had projected without the tax cut. As President John F. Kennedy put it in 1963, “Reducing taxes is the best way open to us to increase revenues.”
Republicans need to come together and realize that due to their slim Congressional majority, no legislator is going to get everything they want. They must follow their North Star values of supporting Main Street and workers and not risk letting the perfect become the enemy of the good. By passing this Main Street-out tax cut, Congressional Republicans can generate shared economic prosperity for decades to come.
Alfredo Ortiz is CEO of Job Creators Network, author of The Real Race Revolutionaries, and co-host of The Main Street Matters podcast.
