I have been all geared up for a post noting some of the questions and issues for small businesses that have arisen in the first few months of the Trump administration. I did my best to find both good and bad news – for example, the House version of the One Big Beautiful Bill increases and makes permanent the pass-through entity deduction available for LLC and S-corp owners’ business-related income. To the relief of many, the Corporate Transparency Act finally appears dead, at least for U.S. companies. And the Small Business Administration reports an increase in the number of SBA loan approvals, although this apparent demand for capital could be read as good news (small businesses are investing in growth and expansion), or not-so-good news (that small companies are being forced to borrow just to stay in business).
Of course, small and start-up businesses are also facing a number of new challenges – tariffs, and even the threat of tariffs, are in many cases increasing business expenses, reducing profit margins, and disrupting supply chains. The uncertainty surrounding the administration’s tariff policy make hiring, expansion, inventory management, and other operating decisions tricky. Interest rates remain high and despite the above-noted increase in SBA loan approvals, SBA loan eligibility and requirements have become stricter, and the agency is eliminating a number of programs that facilitate participation in federal contracts by women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
