A well-known investor and entrepreneur shared his criticisms regarding the tax proposal put forth in President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
“This feels anti-American. It’s like they’re against small businesses. I’ve never encountered anything like this. If we’re talking about a big, beautiful bill, this is definitely the big, ugly part of it,” Kevin O’Leary remarked on “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday.
“I’m an advocate for small and medium-sized businesses,” he continued. “I make it a point to read through these bills.”
As of now, the Trump administration has not provided any comments in response to inquiries from Fox News Digital following the bill’s announcement.
O’Leary, who heads O’Leary Ventures, highlighted the end of the employee retention credit (ERC) introduced during the pandemic, a program that allocated government funds to businesses with U.S. employees during COVID-19.
“That program has concluded. Now, they want to grant the IRS new powers to audit all small businesses for as long as nine years. That’s unprecedented. Why direct this at small businesses?” he pondered.
“Many of these audits might happen after businesses have no records available,” O’Leary noted. “This really feels like a war on small businesses.”
Meanwhile, House Republicans unveiled parts of Trump’s tax agenda late Friday, moving closer to finalizing the federal budget proposal.
The draft legislation proposes increasing child tax credits, raising the threshold for real estate tax liabilities, and further codifying the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It’s expected to advance through this week’s Ways & Means Committee, aiming for the president’s desk by July 4th.
This early version also included modifications to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, the introduction of a new tax for billionaires, updates on retirement benefits, regulations on overtime wages, and provisions regarding the taxation of Social Security checks.
O’Leary emphasized that it’s crucial for the president to make meaningful changes before finalizing this legislation.
“I looked at it and thought, ‘This isn’t right. Why go in this direction?’ It’s outrageous that they attack small businesses like this; the unprecedented powers they’re trying to give the IRS are concerning,” he asserted.
“They want to save money. Sure, I get it, and the ERC has indeed helped millions of businesses,” O’Leary acknowledged. “Some argue it was a scam, and yes, there are scams in government programs. But the reality is that 95% of these businesses are deserving of that money and are still thriving because of it.”
