Yeah those family owned businesses making 600k a year are what’s killing this country
- Tim Wulf, a Jimmy John's franchisee, says the Republican tax plan doesn't help small-business owners.
- Wulf, a former economics professor, says the tax bill lacks measures to boost labor productivity, which he identifies as the most important driver of US economic improvement.
- To that end, Wulf is most concerned with the expensing of equipment, interest on debt, and the tax cut being offered to S-corps and partnerships.
- Wulf is a Republican but says he keeps his politics out of his economic analysis, which includes regular written contributions to trade publications and local outlets.
An econ professor turned small-business owner breaks down his 3 big problems with the GOP tax plan
One of the central parts of President Trump’s tax plan is to cut taxes on what are called “pass-through” businesses. Proponents pitch that as a big boost for middle-class owners of small businesses.
But a new analysis from the
Tax Policy Center finds that aside from making Trump personally a lot richer, the pass-through provision would almost entirely benefit the wealthy.
TPC finds that the plan could cut almost $2 trillion in taxes over 10 years, but the rich would reap nearly all the benefits:
Trump’s "small business" tax plan helps only the rich
On Wednesday the Trump administration unveiled the latest iteration of the president’s tax plan, aiming to reinvigorate the American business. But number crunching shows that one of the president’s biggest proposals — a special, lower tax rate for certain business owners — could mean a huge handout to wealthy Republican voters without delivering a major jolt to the economy.
The proposal, which would allow business owners to pay a special 15% tax rate instead of the (typically higher) income-tax rates that apply to salaried workers, is sure to fire up the GOP base. The small business lobby has pushed hard for it, and
research has shown that small business owners lean heavily Republican.
Yet while it’s likely to boost the economy — as tax cuts generally do — the effect could be far less dramatic than other proposed tax changes, especially rate cuts for big public corporations. And reviews of the proposal by think tanks from both sides of the political spectrum suggest it could add roughly $1 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
What’s more, experts worry that the proposed cut would generate some unintended consequences — worsening inequality and promoting tax avoidance, as workers scramble to qualify for the attractive lower rates. Indeed, when
a similar move was implemented in Kansas in 2012, the tax moves generated a ballooning deficit and surge in newly minted “small business owners.” The results
sank Gov. Sam Brownback’s popularity, and the state is still trying to clean up the mess.
The Big Problem Underlying Trump’s Tax Cut for Business Owners