Pew Research The report found that two-thirds of the nation’s 33 million small business owners have fewer than four employees, 85% of whom are white and 76% are male. Half done 50 years old.
Today, these small business owners are not happy. Despite a surge in new businesses, falling inflation, a softening labor market, fewer supply chain issues, and a growing economy, their sentiment and confidence remain low. Lowest in history.
Not surprisingly, more than half of small business owners Recent Research Only 14% believe that a return of Donald Trump to power would have the most positive impact on their business. In a recent survey,Thirty-three percent of small business owners believe a Trump victory would have a positive impact on their business, compared with 16% who said the same for Biden.
Today, Kamala Harris Biden took over As the Democratic candidate, this is her challenge: can she win the support of small business owners in this election year? She believes there is a way.
When governments are friendly to business, companies feel comfortable investing, hiring, and taking risks. Meanwhile, taxing the “rich,” forcing the “wealthy” to “pay their fair share,” and vilifying “big business” makes corporations look evil. This may be a great plot for Hollywood movies and populist extremist groups, but it’s not a great strategy for governments that need to win significant voter support.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of small business owners who, together with their spouse, make more than $400,000 a year. (“The wealthy”) But we’re also using a significant amount of our capital to reinvest in our own companies. And we need to remember that countless small businesses, from pizza places to landscapers, depend on larger businesses and their employees for their livelihoods. While it’s important to support business owners of color and those from historically disadvantaged communities, it’s also important to recognize that 85 percent of us aren’t in that group. We need support and a little love, too.
As I’ve written before, Republicans will do everything in their power to make permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which contains many provisions that favor small business owners and would otherwise increase my personal tax bill by 20 to 30 percent.
Since Harris has been largely silent on this issue so far, most of my clients are assuming that she will continue Biden’s policies and let the tax cuts lapse. My advice to her would be to compromise and support the provisions of the TCJA that are particularly favorable to small businesses, especially the qualified income tax. She should also support making permanent the first-year deduction for capital equipment and research and development expenses. That way, I and many of my clients would be less worried about tax increases if Harris were elected.
Over the past few years, under Biden’s direction, we have seen a slew of new regulations from various government agencies requiring all businesses to reclassify certain independent contractors, increase overtime pay, eliminate non-compete agreements, and implement new rules (and penalties) on safety, harassment, and discrimination violations. These are important, but they come with big costs.
Large companies can absorb these costs, Overwhelming numbers Fifty percent of small business owners across both Republicans and Democrats say current business policies favor large corporations over small businesses, who struggle to comply with these regulations and afford the costs. A blanket exemption from many of these rules for employers with fewer than 10 employees would be favored by many voters.
Isabella Guzman is one of the best Small Business Administration leaders I’ve ever seen. She has worked hard and traveled extensively. She is qualified to move to the Department of Commerce or the Department of Defense, where she could do the same, as many small business programs need attention. And she should be heavily involved in the selection of her successor at Small Business Administration to ensure her work continues.
Harris also needs to lay out a plan for immigration, which needs to be a priority. Congress must compromise and pass a bill. No one wants to see families deported, but we all know illegal immigrants are breaking the law and creating a burden. Let’s work this out with Congress, secure our borders, and create a better legal path to citizenship. Small businesses need workers. Our economy needs more entrepreneurs. Law-abiding business owners need help competing with companies that ignore the law and hire illegal workers. This country needs a strong president who will work with Congress to solve this big problem.
Finally, consider a new funding program for your successor. As mentioned above, the majority of small business owners are over 50 years old (the average age is about 55). Many of my clients are seriously considering exiting their businesses in the next few years, and many of them are already starting businesses. Their business sales are increasing. More than 20 percent Things are better than they were a year ago, but taxes, financing and other obstacles remain.
Harris should support and expand tax incentives for employee stock ownership plans, so more workers can have equity in their workplaces and business owners can get help turning it into cash. Direct the Small Business Administration to create special loan programs for people who want to buy a business. Not only is this a great opportunity to save for retirement, it’s also an opportunity for younger generations, and even employees, to own a business.
I am a moderate Republican and a business owner. My vote is still undecided. Taking the above actions would go a long way in winning my support for Kamala Harris, and the support of many other business owners.
Gene Marks is the founder of The Marks Group, a small business consulting firm.
