Maybe it’s because lawmakers in Washington DC don’t know what will be in the final tax reform bill but only 47 percent of small business owners believe it’s going to benefit them.
Paychex recently surveyed a group of small business owners to see how they feel about federal attempts to pass major tax reform legislation. Less than half are confident that whatever’s passed will impact their businesses in a positive way.
“Tax reform is an issue that touches millions of American individuals and business owners, but not all small businesses are impacted in the same way,” said Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO, in a company statement. “As lawmakers continue to debate what the future of a federal tax overhaul might look like, our research reveals small business owners seem to have different levels of interest given the impacts of tax reform on their specific business.”
Senate Republicans were recently able to pass their version of a tax reform bill. Now that they and the House of Representatives have passed tax legislation, the two bodies will come together to hash out a final tax reform bill before it’s passed to President Donald Trump.
Trump says he wants to sign a tax reform bill before Christmas.
What Small Businesses Think About the Tax Reform Plan
Of course, nearly half of those responding to Paychex believe the tax bill will help them. Of that 47 percent who say the tax bill will be a benefit, 86 percent think it will help their business increase profits specifically. And 79 percent of these business owners also believe paying less in taxes will allow them to invest more in their companies for things like new equipment and tech.
Paychex says 57 percent of those hopeful for a beneficial tax reform bill want to hire more staff. And 65 percent want to increase wages for workers with the money they’d otherwise pay the government.
Less than half, 47 percent, say the tax bill benefits will allow them to expand their business, for example by spreading to other locations.
“It’s encouraging to see that several of the major benefits cited by the small business owners in our survey sample — namely investing in resources, increasing wages, and hiring more staff — could generate positive economic growth,” Mucci adds.
A total of 307 “Principals” at companies with less than 500 employees were interviewed for the Paychex survey.
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