Washington, DC - Small business owners embody the American pioneering spirit and remind us that determination can turn aspiration into achievement.

President Donald J. Trump

CRITICAL TO THE ECONOMY: Small businesses are responsible for a significant portion of U.S. economic activity and are vital asset to the economy.

• There are nearly 30 million small business in the United States employing over 57 million people, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA).
  • A 2012 study found that small businesses produce nearly half of private non-farm gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States.
• Small businesses, defined as firms employing fewer than 500 employees, play a huge role in the U.S. economy.
  • Small businesses comprise over 99 percent of all firms with paid employees in the country.
  • Over 97 percent of all trade activity comes from small businesses, generating one-third of the United States $1.4 trillion in total known exports.
  • Small businesses employ 48 percent of private sector employees and represent 41.2 percent of private sector payroll.
  • Small business are diverse, representing 8 million minority-owned businesses.
• Small businesses are an engine for job creation.
  • Historically, small businesses are responsible for two out of every three net new jobs created in America.
  • Over half a million new small business are launched each year in the United States, creating more than 2.5 million new jobs per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Small businesses are diverse, representing millions of women and minority owned businesses.
  • According to the SBA, there were 9.9 million women-owned business as of 2012, including 4 million firms owned by Latinas and African American women.
  • Almost 99.9 percent of women-owned owned business are small businesses.
  • Women owned small businesses employ 7.3 million employees across the Nation.
  • Small business represent 8 million minority-owned businesses.
  • The number of minority-owned businesses is growing faster than non-minority owned businesses, with minority-owned firms generating nearly $1.4 trillion in annual economic output.

POLICY THAT WORKS: President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cut taxes, regulatory reform, and improve the Nation’s business climate provides huge benefits for small businesses.

• In December 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), giving money back to Americans and improving the climate for businesses large and small. Among numerous improvements for small businesses, the TCJA:
  • reduces the tax burden on about 80 percent of small business owners who, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), file taxes as pass-through entities, by doubling the standard deduction;
  • allows most pass-through businesses to deduct 20 percent of qualified business income; and
  • expands section 179 expensing, which allows for more expensing of business-related equipment, making it easier for small business owners to invest in resources that will grow their firms over the long run.
  • Additionally, for the next five years, all American businesses will immediately be able to fully write off the cost of their heavy equipment and other capital investments.
• The President’s focus on deregulation and cutting red tape is reducing costs for small businesses across industries.
  • According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, businesses with 50 or fewer employees face regulatory costs nearly 20 percent higher than the average for all firms.
  • In FY 2017, Federal agencies issued 67 deregulatory actions and only 3 regulatory actions, a 22 to 1 ratio.
  • In December, President Trump announced his first full Regulatory Plan and Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory actions, committing his Administration to issue at least three deregulatory actions for every one new regulation.
    • An early analysis by the American Action Forum, found that of the 579 actions listed in the Unified Agenda, 448 were of a deregulatory nature.
• Under President Trump, more support has been given to minority and women-owned businesses.
  • In FY17 alone, the SBA lent approximately $277 million more in 7(a) (SBA’s flagship loan program) to women-owned businesses than in the previous fiscal year and a record $9.58 billion to minority business owners.
  • Lending under SBA’s 504 financing program reached $955.2 million in FY17, an increase of $277 million over the previous year.
  • President Trump declared October 22 to 28, 2017, National Minority Enterprise Development Week, to recognize the contribution of minority-owned businesses to our economy and to commit the administration to creating a business climate in which minority business enterprises can thrive and expand.

SMALL BUSINESSES ARE BOOMING: Under President Trump’s leadership, small business optimism and the economy have reached historic levels.

• The economy is growing and wages are rising at small and large businesses.
  • The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that the corporate provisions of the Tax and Jobs Cut Act alone will raise GDP by 2 percent to 4 percent over the long run, increasing household income by $4,000.
  • Department of Labor data from March shows a 4.1 percent unemployment rate, which is a 17 year low, and wages are up 2.7 percent over the past year, the highest of any calendar rate since 2008.
• Small business optimism and plans for expansion have reached historic highs.
  • In March, the NFIB’s small business optimism index reached its 16th consecutive month in the top 5 percent of 45 years of survey readings.
  • According to Wells Fargo, small business optimism is at an eleven-year high.
  • In April, NFIB’s monthly jobs report showed that a net 20 percent of small business owners reported job creation plans, remaining at a historically high level, and 33 percent reported raising compensation, the highest reading since November 2000.