PHOENIX (Oct. 8, 2025) – In an op-ed for the Phoenix Independent, NFIB Members Rene and Heather LeBlanc shared how the permanency of the Small Business Deduction will allow Main Street businesses to invest in their workforce.

“And most importantly, we’re better able to help our workers thrive. Over the few years, the tax cut enabled us to give our workers an unanticipated but much-needed raise, retaining the people we need to succeed. We were even able to pay a greater share of their health care costs. Now, with permanent relief, increased wage hikes are manageable for the foreseeable future.”

CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. Excerpts are below:

President Trump, Congress Have Empowered Our Small Business

Phoenix Independent

By: Rene & Heather LeBlanc

October 3, 2025

When you run a small business, you feel the heat every day. We say that as the owners of a commercial air conditioning company. […] But Congress and President Trump just removed one of the biggest barriers facing small businesses like ours.

In the major tax legislation that the president signed over the summer, our elected leaders saved us from a massive tax hike and gave us permanent tax relief that is already empowering us to do more for our community.

We’re the third-generation owners of our small business, and we’ve been at the helm for the past nine years. From the start, taxes were one of our biggest burdens, standing in the way of the growth, job creation and investment we wanted.

Thankfully, the very next year, President Trump and Congress gave us historic relief in the form of the Small Business Deduction. […]

While the Small Business Deduction was a godsend, it wasn’t permanent. It was set to expire at the end of this year, putting us on the hook for a much bigger tax bill. […]

Now we’re making entirely different decisions, thanks to the permanent tax cut. We’ve put in place new plans to grow and give back to our community.

To get a sense of what small businesses like ours are now empowered to do, consider what we did after the initial tax cut eight years ago. To start, it let us pay off our small business loan at a much faster rate, ultimately getting it off our books. Now, we can use the extra money to invest in our operations and workers.

The tax cut also helped us invest in new equipment. Some new fleet trucks. A new forklift for the warehouse. […] Now, with a permanent tax cut, we can invest and compete with even more confidence.

And most importantly, we’re better able to help our workers thrive. Over the few years, the tax cut enabled us to give our workers an unanticipated but much-needed raise, retaining the people we need to succeed. […]

None of this would be possible if D.C. had let this tax relief expire. We would have had to raise prices and cut costs, and over time, the pressure would have only increased. […]

We’re grateful that our leaders in Washington delivered for us. They’ve given us the immediate confidence to keep growing, investing and giving back. […] That’s the power of this permanent tax relief: It will make our state’s future permanently brighter.

Contact your elected officials now and tell them what making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent means for your business.