Why Trumps tax bill will make or break Americas small businesses

Americans who want a booming economy had more reason to be optimistic last week.First, President Trump paused his announced tariffs, giving him room to negotiate with other countries — including our allies — about lowering their many unfair trade barriers.More important, House Republicans on Thursday passed a budget bill, setting the stage for making Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent.The final bill could pass within a month, maybe two.Make no mistake: Tax cuts are the key to Trump’s presidential legacy.

Tariffs might help boost American businesses, but nothing does more to lift up Americans themselves than lower taxes.I say this with all due respect for the president’s focus on trade.I’m not one of those freaking out over the massive tariffs he unveiled on April 2, which he hopes to use in the short run to usher in a new era of not just free, but fair trade.Tax cuts, though, are the real key to bigger paychecks, better jobs and a booming economy. Most of all, permanent tax cuts will enable the entrepreneurship that makes everything else possible.Every American remembers the incredible economy that resulted from Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. Wages grew at their fastest pace in 20 years — and workers at the bottom of the income scale saw 400% faster wage growth than the wealthy. Unemployment fell to a 50-year-low, and the lowest level ever for black and Hispanic workers. Small businesses flourished, which really matters: Start-ups and mom-and-pop shops create two out of every three net new jobs nationwide.The fond memory of the Trump boom is exactly why Americans, including unprecedented numbers of minority voters, elected him again in 2024. But a lot of his tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year, including income-tax relief and small business relief. If those tax rates rise, an economic boom is virtually impossible.

A bust will likely be inevitable.And all Americans will suffer — because entrepreneurs will find it much harder to kee...