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Janel Knight Trulear
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(617) 875-6581

New Survey: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act failed to help small businesses grow while large corporations reaped benefits

National survey shows TCJA created a two-tiered tax structure with just 6% of small businesses increasing investment or wages due to 2017 law while large corporations received substantial and permanent tax cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 13, 2025 —As Congress debates tax reform ahead of expiration of key Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions this year, a new national survey of small business owners reveals the law failed to deliver on its promise to boost Main Street growth and job creation. While large corporations received permanent, substantial tax cuts, the survey shows small businesses—which employ nearly half of all working Americans—saw little meaningful benefit from the law, with just 6% reporting increased business investment or wages and only 3% adding jobs as a result of the TCJA.

“Small businesses create jobs, drive innovation, and provide essential services in every community across America. But this law has done nothing to help them fulfill their potential,” said Anne Zimmerman, Co-Chair of Small Business for America’s Future and a small business CPA based in Cincinnati. “When nearly 40% of small business owners can’t even determine if they received the law’s main small business tax deduction, while large corporations got an immediate and permanent tax cut, something is fundamentally wrong with our approach."

The survey paints a clear picture of the TCJA’s failure to help small businesses grow:

●     Just 6% of business owners responding to the survey increased business investment or employee wages due to the tax law

●     Only 3% hired more employees as a result

●     A mere 9% were able to pay down business debts

●     43% reported no positive impact from the law at all

●     91% of small business owners say the current tax code favors large corporations (59% strongly agree)

●     76% report that wealthy individuals and large corporations benefited most from TCJA

●     The law’s signature small business provision was so complex that 39% of owners couldn’t determine if they qualified

With the TCJA's temporary provisions set to expire in 2025, small business owners identified specific solutions Congress should prioritize:

●     Exempting the first $25,000 of small business profit from federal income tax -- rated as the most helpful potential change

●     Creating a simplified small business standard deduction

●     Making the tax code less complex for small businesses

●     Modernizing the IRS to improve small business services — supported by 92% of owners (60% strongly supporting)

●     61% support raising the corporate tax rate to pay for new small business tax benefits

“By slashing the corporate tax rate permanently from 35% to 21%, while offering most small business owners only a temporary and complex 20% tax deduction, the TCJA created a two-tier tax system that overwhelmingly favored large corporations. This isn’t just hurting business owners—it’s failing workers, families and local economies in every community across the country,” said Small Business for America’s Future Co-chair Walt Rowen, President of Susquehanna Glass Company in Pennsylvania. “Now, Congress has a choice—they can either extend a failed policy or create tax reform that actually works for Main Street and communities.”

The survey of 863 small business owners in the Small Business for America’s Future small business network was conducted from Dec.13, 2024 to Jan. 29, 2025. Small businesses surveyed ranged in size from self-employed to 500 employees, with 77% having 10 or fewer employees. Respondents were politically diverse: 26% identified as Democrats, 28% as Republicans, 22% as Independents, with the remainder identifying as other or preferring not to answer.

To schedule an interview with a representative from Small Business for America’s Future, contact Janel Knight Trulear at janel@emccommunications.com or (617) 875-6581.

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About Small Business for America’s Future
Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders advocating for policy solutions that promote a thriving, inclusive economy. We work to ensure that lawmakers prioritize the needs of Main Street, advancing a just and equitable economic framework for small business owners, their employees, and their communities. For more information, visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org.