Will President Trump Help My Small Business?
Nov 09 | 2016
In a well-publicized poll last September, Donald Trump appeared to be winning over small business owners by a pretty comfortable margin. This was seen, by many, as a response to Obama-era anxieties over issues like a raised minimum wage, health care, and concern with government over-regulation.
Yet many experts, like the generally unpolitical Rhonda Abrams, author of many books likes The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, wereadamant that his proposals would do little for the many small business owners out there struggling with taxes or trade. With his election last night as President, it’s time to look at those polices and see what exactly they are.
Regulations
One big promise Trump has made is cut some of the red tape that businesses often have to face in their infancy before they can get a product to their customers. The only problem is that Trump hasn’t specified much about what tape he plans on cutting. He’s been most vocal onopposing the EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which will probably help out if you run a coal-mining operation. Here’s the scoop on what other regulations Trump might untangle.
Minimum Wage
While flip-flopping extensively on the issue, the alternative Trump finally offered to raising the minimum wage has been a combination of offering tax credits to families for child care expenses and expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), that supplements the wages of low-income employees. On the plus side, this would shift responsibility to the government to pay for the rising costs of their employee’s well-being, read about that here. The downside? It’sessentially a pricey welfare scheme that might not fare well with a Republican controlled Congress.
Taxes
Here’s the note that many pro-Trump small business owners have talked about as a key plank behind why they supported the now-President elect. Danny Koker, star of the reality TV show “Counting Cars,” endorsed Trump during an appearance on FOX Business, saying that “as you work harder, and as you try to become more and more successful, you seem to become more and more penalized whether it’s with taxes or with regulations.” Trump has promised tax cuts for business income but it will only apply to small businesses that are large enough to pay their income taxes. If you pay income tax on a “pass-through,” as in as part of your personal income tax, it isn’t likely Trump will do much.
Health Care
Trump promises to repeal the Affordable Care Act with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which would demand employees make tax-deductible contributions to pay for their health insurance instead of obligating all businesses with fifty or more employees to ensure coverage for their employees. Here’s an idea of how HSAs work and here‘s a review of current policy.
Trade
Another big issue Trump railed against as a candidate was trade: namely raising tariffs on imports and potentially sparking trade wars with potential exporters. Which means if you’re a man manufacturer and your customer base is mostly domestic, you might enjoy less stiff competition. But if you’re one of the 293,000 small and medium-sized companies who export, you might get hit hard.