Election 2024: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Mean for Small Businesses

Former President Donald Trump has been scarce on sharing his vision for small businesses during his 2024 campaign. In a recent podcast appearance with Dave Ramsey, he pointed to letting small business owners create jobs by “letting them do what they have to do, but we still have to give them a playing field,” and then quickly pivoted to discussing China and his emphasis on trade tariffs.

Despite scant details, more small business owners feel that a second Trump presidency would net them a better outcome. In the CNBC SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index Q3 2024, half of small business owners think Donald Trump will have a positive impact on their business, compared with only 32% for his opponent.

Here’s what you need to know about how a Donald Trump 2024 presidency could affect your small business.

A Second Trump Term and How He Might Support Small Businesses

Rolling Back Existing Policies

The Biden administration has been hammered with lawsuits from business groups claiming government overreach into the private sector. From reclassifying independent contractors to banning noncompete clauses, there has been a slew of government intervention in the private sector.

What this means for SMBs: A Trump administration will mean a suspension or reversal of many of the Biden administration’s labor regulations. This could benefit industries that rely on contract workers like those in private events, warehousing, and transportation. Additionally, businesses that use noncompete agreements like creative designs, portfolio managers, and those with exclusive client relationships would be able to retain their exclusive relationships if and when employees leave.

No Taxes on Tips, Overtime 

Trump was the first US presidential candidate in this race to propose the idea of no taxes on tips. Harris followed closely behind, adopting one of the few common policy goals between the two candidates. 

Pundits have dubbed this as a way for both candidates to appeal to those in the service sector, particularly in Nevada, a swing state. This potential policy has drawn mixed reactions across the board, especially for restaurant operators. 

A recent Eater article highlights one of many potential issues that could come from this policy: “This plan will create resentment between the front and back of the house in my workplace,” says Ned Baldwin, owner of Houseman in Hudson Square. “In this plan, cooks will pay taxes on their income but the servers, largely, will not. The plan seems arbitrary and unfair to the restaurant.” Additionally, Trump has touted potentially ending taxes on overtime wages. This imbalance could possibly force operators to pay non-tipped employees even more. 

What this means for SMBs: For business operators with workers who earn tips, this could bring a significant dynamic change inside your business. For businesses with hourly workers, this could potentially raise employee costs across all sectors as more hourly workers push for overtime wages. 

Bring Manufacturing Back To The U.S. 

One of former President Trump’s largest election stances has been to put pressure against companies outsourcing labor and goods away from the U.S. He wants to reverse that trend, and disincentivize imported goods with significant tariffs through a “manufacturing renaissance.” 

At a recent rally, he said he envisions “a mass exodus of manufacturing from China to Pennsylvania, from Korea to North Carolina, from Germany to right here in Georgia.” 

What this means for SMBs: If your small business is in the manufacturing or labor sector, this could be a significant benefit to your operations. However, if you import goods that would be subject to this significant tariff, it would be a substantial increase in costs. 

Trump Restricting Credit 10%  

Consumers are reaching record levels of credit card debt, and interest payments have soared into the hundreds of billions. And as the Federal Reserve has hiked interest rates, rates on credit cards have risen in tandem. 

In response, former President Trump proposed capping credit card issuers to charging 10% APR on their products. This is a long fall from the current average APR of 21.76%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

What this means for SMBs: If this were to make it through Congress and pass (which experts highly doubt), this could cause access to credit to dry up. This means that business credit cards for small business owners could become more difficult to be approved for, and consumers may not be able to get credit as easily for their own purchases. 

Bottom Line 

Some of the former President’s ideas could have a significant impact on your business operations if he is elected president in 2024. You can read more about his various proposals here. 

We’re here to give you the facts of the US presidential candidates and their respective small business policies to make the best voting decision for you and your business. 

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