Congress Must Preserve Tax Cuts Empowering American Small Businesses

Swift action is needed to protect small businesses, secure American jobs, and preserve the economic gains of the past decade.

With President Trump officially back in the White House, our country has an opportunity to see generational policy enacted to help the American economy. To achieve that, Congress must make extending the Trump Tax Cuts its top priority before the law expires at the end of this year. If Congress fails to act to preserve President Trump’s legacy, millions of small businesses and entrepreneurs will face a massive tax hike – putting American jobs, innovation, and economic strength at risk.

Our conservative movement was successful last year because we paid attention to working class issues and offered solutions that resonated with the American people. We listened to people’s concerns about the cost of housing, the cost of energy, the cost of groceries, and the cost of running a business. We listened. Now it’s time to deliver. Extending the TCJA isn’t just a typical policy decision—it’s the fulfillment of a promise made to American workers and small businesses that form the backbone of this country’s economic prosperity.

The 2017 tax reform brought historic economic growth by cutting the red tape and providing broad-based tax relief. On the individual side, Republicans cut tax rates, doubled the standard deduction, doubled the Child Tax Credit, and simplified the tax code. On the business side, Republicans created a new deduction for small businesses, slashed the business income tax rate, and expanded immediate capital deductions for investments here in America. Taken together, Trump’s tax cuts sparked a wave of investments, job creation, and wage increases across the country.

We need to extend the TCJA for small businesses, which play a crucial role in driving innovation and creating jobs. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for nearly half of all private-sector employment. Their ability to hire, grow, and innovate directly depends on policies that reduce their tax burdens. Allowing the TCJA to expire would force these businesses to divert resources away from growth and into paying higher taxes, undermining their role as engines of the economy.

It's also important to highlight the reduction to the corporate tax rate that helped our economy. Prior to the TCJA, businesses were fleeing America because we had the highest corporate tax rate in the western world, which was quickly cut to one of the lowest. The rate cut also wasn’t some giveaway to big businesses either. Of the over 1.7 million C corporations in the U.S., 97.3 percent have fewer than 100 employees, and 90.1 percent have fewer than 20. These aren’t faceless numbers—they’re the local mechanics, mom-and-pop shops, and family-owned businesses. Lowering the corporate tax rate allowed these small businesses to reinvest in their workers, equipment, and communities.

During President Trump’s first term, inflation was at historic lows, and the economy flourished due to a combination of regulatory reform and broad tax cuts. By contrast, under the Biden administration, inflation soared, eroding the purchasing power of families and businesses alike. Imagine the devastation of a tax hike for the countless entrepreneurs and small businesses that kept America running during the pandemic. Failing to extend the TCJA would jeopardize significant provisions that provided much-needed relief to millions of working-class families.

Despite its benefits, provisions of the TCJA like the widely-popular child tax credit have already begun to phase out, leaving families hanging and businesses with fewer tools to innovate and expand. This uncertainty hampers long-term planning, discourages investment, and stifles job creation. With the added projection that failing to renew these provisions would reduce GDP growth and eliminate significant wage gains, the consequences are too grave to ignore.

Republicans must deliver for the American people. The American people gave them a trifecta in November, and they must take this as a mandate to continue the successful policies that President Trump spearheaded in his first term. Recent estimates suggest that the bill could add over 1.5 million additional American jobs in the coming years, growth that is critical to advancing Trump’s economic agenda and facilitating America’s Golden Age. Republicans must not squander this opportunity to secure the future of American jobs, innovation, and prosperity.

America’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Renewing this landmark legislation is not just about safeguarding tax cuts—it’s about securing the future of American jobs, innovation, and prosperity.

Quickly extending the TCJA will deliver a big win for Americas businesses and families. There’s no time to waste. It’s time for Congress to get to work.