By Greg Aguirre
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Congress passed in 2017 was undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of President Donald Trump’s first administration, lowering tax rates for Americans and businesses of all sizes—from major corporations to small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs.
The changes enacted by the TCJA helped spur economic growth and drive investments throughout the U.S. economy. However, some of the law’s most important tax cuts and provisions have already expired while others are set to do so at the end of 2025 or soon after. That is why it is so critical for Congress to preserve the positive impacts of the TCJA by renewing and extending these reforms.
With control of both Congress and the White House, Republicans should work to restore the full intent of the TCJA—while Democrats should recognize the positive impact the law has had on small businesses in their states and help back these efforts. Ultimately, protecting small businesses, creating local jobs, and strengthening our economy should not be bipartisan issues anyway.
The TCJA’s 20% deduction for businesses structured as a pass-throughs has been especially beneficial for Florida’s small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs, as roughly 95% of businesses nationwide are structured this way. This deduction has helped Florida small businesses invest in growing their operations, expanding employee benefits, and creating more jobs in their communities.
With the pass-through deduction one of many that is set to expire at the end of the year, the National Association of Manufacturers has been hearing concerns from our members about their ability to maintain these kinds of positive investments and economic contributions. On top of that, there are some provisions of the TCJA that have already expired and need to be restored, including full expensing for new equipment and immediate expensing of R&D, both of which are necessary to help support innovation throughout the American economy.
As lawmakers work out a way to restore and extend these key provisions, they must also help keep the current corporate tax rate at its relatively low, competitive level. In the Sunshine State and across the country, roughly 1.3 million small businesses act as suppliers to larger companies and corporations. It’s impossible to increase taxes on the latter without that negatively impacting the former.
While maintaining the TCJA’s tax cuts and provisions is critical for all Florida small businesses, it is perhaps most important for the ones in our state’s manufacturing sector. Based on data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Florida is home to a just over 38,000 small manufacturing businesses—more than 35,000 of which employ fewer than 20 workers.
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, failure to extend the tax reform measures that Congress passed as part of the TCJA would cost Florida 399,000 manufacturing jobs, more than $35 billion in employee wages, and over $73 billion in GDP. Lawmakers should not jeopardize these economic contributions by failing to renew critical TCJA tax cuts and provisions.
That’s why we need Congress to protect Florida’s small businesses and manufacturers by preserving the pass-through deduction, reinstating immediate expensing of R&D, and restoring full expensing of new equipment. Hopefully, the Florida delegation will help lead on this issue and preserve the positive policy environment that has led to the United States having the strongest economy in the world.
Greg Aguirre is the CEO of US Capital Source
