NEW YORK —
As the Small Business Week approaches, many accounts show that the smallest companies in the United States are doing pretty well overall.
However, they are not collectively thriving to respond directly to the Trump administration and Republican policies.
According to data released by payroll provider ADP, recruitment for small businesses is unstable.
When the unemployment rate is very low, it is often difficult for small businesses to increase jobs, and as it is now, the unemployment rate is 3. 8%.
They generally cannot pay more as big companies do, nor can they provide relatively strong benefits for big companies, thus putting workers at a disadvantage when they are scarce.
Meanwhile, surveys by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One and Bank of AmericaS.
Chamber of Commerce and Metropolitan Life show that small business owners have lost some optimism as doubts about the current economic expansion linger.
The new tax law has had a complex impact on small businesses, and a trade war starting with tariffs on the Trump administration is hurting small manufacturers and retailers.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said: "The business is good, but it's no different from the whole expansion process . ".
"It's hard to say that the president's policy has brought some sort of revival to small businesses, which will always mean great things.
This is not the case, the government believes.
Former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon said in a comment on FoxBusiness published last week.
Government policies have helped the economy and, in turn, small companies.
She noted that she met with small business owners during her tenure at SBA.
"I don't need a spreadsheet to tell me that the president's first US tax, trade, regulatory and energy reform program is putting pressure on our economy," McMahon said, resigning last month, working for President Donald Trump's re-election
Campaign.
"I saw it and continued to see it with my own eyes --
Through the eyes of hundreds of business leaders I have seen.
In a letter posted by SBA last month
Atlantic Region chief executive Michelle Christian said, "We see small business owners using President Trump's efforts to cut taxes and relax controls to invest in their companies and employees by raising wages, provide bonuses, increase benefits and create more jobs.
The economy is strong and small businesses are booming.
Economists and industry organization officials believe that the impact of government and Republican policies on small businesses is complex --
How the company is affected depends on the policy and the individual circumstances of the business.
But even if a company benefits from one policy, it can be hurt by another.
"It's a step forward and a step back," said senior vice president David French.
Chairman of government relations of the National Retail Federation of industrial groups.
"Many of the positive gains we have seen from tax reform are lost due to sales losses and increased tariffs.
"The tariffs imposed by the government on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese and European products have made small businesses, including manufacturers and retailers, more costly.
To sum up the company that will be the focus of the National Small Business Week in May 5 may be a mistake --11.
The term "small business" is used to describe companies with relatively few employees and less income, while large companies have thousands of workers, hundreds of millions of dollars or billions of dollars a year.
But no typical small business.
Retailers, dry cleaners, restaurants, manufacturers, dental clinics or car repairers can be small businesses.
Because the structure, products and services of these companies are very different, their needs and priorities are very different, and the impact of government policies on them is also different.
The tax law has had an uneven impact.
Not all sole proprietorship operators, partners and owners known as S companies can deduct 20% of the new fees from their business income;
The regulation does not include some industries, depending on the filing situation.
For example, the owner of a small business whose spouse receives high income from work or other sources may not be eligible for deduction.
People like doctors, architects and consultants who have professional practices can't.
While the law has lowered the maximum corporate tax rate from 21% to 35%, it has risen for many small businesses.
According to the previous tax law, Sandra Payne's top $ 15% Income from building equipment manufacturers has a tax rate of 50,000.
According to the new law, the number has risen to 21%.
"This is huge for us;
It's a big deal, "said Penn, president of the Colorado Denver concrete vibrator.
Michael Rogers estimated that he saved about $3,100 in taxes because he was able to get a 20% deduction from his Cleveland, Tennessee, real estate company Chandler properties.
But the money will not be reinvested in his business.
The Rogers family with four children.
Overall, the tax law does not seem to help small businesses as much as the Republican Party predicted.
In a Bank of America survey of 1,504 small business owners released last week, 28% said the government's tax policies were positive for their companies, from the 45% people predicted a year ago to the positive for them.
Half said the policy was neutral, above 39%, and 21% said it was negative for their company, above 15%.
Meanwhile, while Trump claims his trade policies help businesses, it charges billions of dollars in taxes on Chinese and European imports and retaliatory tariffs on the United StatesS.
Commodities have pushed up prices for small companies and customers.
In the Federal Reserve's recently published Beige Book, the assessment of the regional economy, 8 of the 12 regional Federal Reserve banks reported that companies were subject to or worried about tariffs of up to 25% on certain products.
While the April 17 report did not identify these companies as small businesses, it did indicate that tariffs were an ongoing problem.
France of the NRF says the tariffs also offset some of the tax benefits set out in the new law.
"If retailers benefit from consumers with more disposable income, then a portion of disposable income will be subject to tariffs," he said . ".
In a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on February, researchers found that tariffs on Chinese imports have increased by 0.
1 percentage point, consumer price inflation is relatively small, and China's imports also contribute less to overall personal consumption and corporate investment.
However, the report said, "when faced with tariffs of up to 25% per cent for a range of product categories, even these small stocks may cause pressure on prices to rise sharply.
Penn's company used steel and other raw materials hit by tariffs to pay higher prices to suppliers.
"All of our suppliers are ready or have raised prices in the event of expected tariff issues," she said . ". The U. S.
Steady economic growth.
2% in the first three months of this year, but economists expect the current April
In the quarter of June, to match this performance.
Many expect gdp growth to slow to around 2% this quarter.
A weak economy could lead to a decline in employment, which is inconsistent among small businesses.
ADP added 77,000 new small business jobs in April and 20,000 in 2018, compared with an average of 52,000 per month.
Although many businesses say they can't find skilled workers
Zandi said that the government's immigration policy has exacerbated a problem --
Some business owners say they are cautious about taking on the extra cost of new employees. ———-
Focus on Joyce Rosenberg.