For Ohio small businesses, the Trump tax cuts fueled the American Dream

Over the last eight years, the Trump tax cuts have been a lifeline.

Just ask Shawn Parker, an Ohio small business owner who knows the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship. Shawn runs a commercial property management group and a court receivership practice.

That second job means Shawn helps manage the assets of businesses and individuals in financial distress. It’s not a business he wants to see booming, but Shawn says the “hyper-inflation” of the last few years, combined with the growing burden of federal regulations, has been too much for some.

“We’re seeing and feeling the challenges out there that all small businesses are up against,” Shawn said.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is one policy Ohioans depend on to keep more money in their pockets.

That’s why Shawn wants Congress to act quickly and extend the TCJA permanently.

Parker: Allowing Trump tax cuts to expire would keep entrepreneurs from starting businesses

The 2017 TCJA reduced taxes for all American businesses and families, creating more than 26,000 jobs in Ohio alone.

According to Shawn, letting the Trump tax cuts expire would be devastating.

The federal government “really needs to take a look at where we are as small businesspeople so that we can make sure that the American Dream continues forward.”

If Congress fails to act this year, tax cut expirations will cost the average Ohio business about $821. Families will suffer too, facing tax bills that are more than $2,000 higher on average.

Shawn said many of his employees dream of owning their own small businesses someday. Taking that $2,000 and shuffling it toward federal government coffers to feed the federal deficit will impair those entrepreneurial ambitions.

“I’m proud to employ a number of people who depend on our business to feed their families,” Parker said. “Our people get out of bed every day with the assurance that they have a place to go to work and live the American Dream. Many of them want to open their own businesses in the future, which is absolutely fabulous.”

Beyond jobs: TCJA helped Shawn give back to his community

In just 28 months following the implementation of the Trump tax cuts, the United States added 5 million new jobs. The unemployment rate reached a 50-year low of 3.5% in September 2019.

Other benefits of the TCJA are not as quantifiable, but Shawn can tell you about them. Small business owners like him provide services, sign paychecks, and create jobs. But they do much more than that.

They are the people who support schools, charitable organizations, and neighborhood events.

“I think about what we do in terms of how we sponsor Little League teams, bake sales, all the local things,” Shawn said. “That comes from small business, that’s us. We’re the ones that make sure our communities keep thriving and that people have opportunity. We’re the volunteers that live next to you.”

Without the TCJA, running a business would become a “very, very challenging scenario,” Shawn said. Thousands of small firms like his may be forced to make tough choices that would reverberate across the community.

“We need to make sure that the guy that gets out of bed in the morning and the lady that gets out of bed in the morning and goes to work at 6 o’clock to make sure that their payrolls are funded … [have] the ability to invest in equipment, depreciate that equipment effectively so that we can guarantee that we have the same competitive advantages to move forward,” Shawn said. “We implore you, our government workers, our elected officials, to protect who we are: small business owners.”

Help ensure Shawn Parker can continue giving back to his community and his employees.

Tell your representatives in Washington, D.C. that they must vote to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.