What Did Trump’s Address Mean for Small Business?

Date: March 02, 2017

Pres. Donald Trump touched on major issues, including taxes, healthcare, and regulations. Here are the key small business takeaways from his speech.

Pres. Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28, hitting on several major small business issues, including taxes, healthcare, and regulations.

“President Trump delivered a very strong economic message that hit the right notes,” said NFIB CEO and President Juanita Duggan. “He reiterated his call for tax reform that would reduce the burden for businesses. He expressed in urgent terms the need to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with a system that reduces costs. He has already taken bold actions to reduce the crushing burden of regulations, and it’s clear that regulatory reform is a key part of his economic agenda.”

NFIB live Tweeted the speech, and below are some of the small business highlights. (You can read Trump’s full address here.)

So how do these priorities translate into tangible action? Trump laid out his plan throughout the night. 

“Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time, provide better healthcare,” he said.

It’s a message that resonated with small business owners. Take it from a couple of NFIB members:

Tax reform was also a big topic during Trump’s address: “My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone,” he said. “At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class.”

Given the results of NFIB’s 2016 Small Business Problems & Priorities report, it’s a discussion that’s been a long time coming. 

Touching on the need for reducing regulations, Trump highlighted some of the efforts he’s already made. “We have undertaken a historic effort to massively reduce job‑crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every Government agency; imposing a new rule which mandates that for every 1 new regulation, 2 old regulations must be eliminated; and stopping a regulation that threatens the future and livelihoods of our great coal miners.”

“Small business owners have waited a long time to hear a speech like that from the President of the United States,” Duggan said.

But NFIB wasn’t the only one with opinions. Here’s what others had to say about Trump’s address:

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