The majority of U.S. small business owners are optimistic that President Donald Trump and his administration will help out businesses like theirs, according to a May poll from the Job Creators Network Foundation (JCNF) obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The survey, first shared with the DCNF, found that the majority of respondents, 58%, said they felt “optimistic” that the president and his administration will help small businesses, while 41% said they felt “pessimistic” and 1% responded they were “unsure,” according to the poll. Moreover, the majority of small business owners, 58%, said they want the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 to be extended, versus only 18% who said they do not, according to the survey.
The TCJA, which Trump signed into law during his first term, cut the corporate tax rate, capped deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) at $10,000, significantly increased standard deductions and temporarily expanded the child tax credit. Many of the tax provisions under the TCJA are set to expire by the end of 2025.
The majority of small business owners, 56%, said they thought the TCJA helped small businesses, compared to 21% who said the legislation did not help small businesses, according to the poll.
“Small businesses are among the biggest supporters of the tax cuts legislation moving through Congress,” Elaine Parker, president of the JCNF, said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “The elements will empower Main Street to expand operations, hire more workers, raise wages, and further invest in local communities. Small businesses clearly want the Senate to swiftly pass the tax cuts package to help usher in another American Golden Age.”
In May, the House passed the Trump-backed “one big, beautiful bill” along party lines. The sweeping tax and spending bill, which still has to pass through the Senate, would notably extend several of the TCJA’s changes to individual and corporate brackets, deductions and credits.
The survey found that 71% of small business employers said they support increasing the TCJA’s small business tax deduction. Moreover, 63% of small business owners surveyed said that eliminating taxes on tips, overtime and social security would make it easier for them to hire workers, according to the poll.
Trump has pledged to strengthen the U.S. economy during his second term. The president wrote in a May 5 memo that his administration is “unleashing a new era of opportunity for small businesses built on common sense and pro-growth policies that put our workers and our job creators first.”
Some recent surveys have shown Americans holding a positive view of Trump’s economy during his second term. The majority of voters, 51%, said they think the economy is “strong,” according to a Harvard University Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)/Harris poll released in May.
The JCNF’s poll was conducted by Scott Rasmussen and John McLaughlin. The poll surveyed 400 small business employers between May 2 to 22. All interviews were conducted online with randomly distributed invitations. The geographic and demographic profiles were structured to represent the population of small business employers in the U.S. The sample of 400 small business employers has an accuracy of plus or minus 4.9% at a 95% confidence interval.
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