Four future headlines about the new tax law
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is now an official part of the U.S. tax code. As you may know, since April 2017 I twice warned in this space that the legislation was going to favor Wall Street over Main Street businesses.
My last column on this topic was a “good, bad and ugly” analysis after the TCJA became law, as it would be applied to business tax returns. Clearly, for most individuals and businesses, the new law is good news, because lower taxes means more cash to be spent. But unlike consumer purchases, when businesses deploy tax cuts, that money produces a competitive dynamic which is being disrupted by the TCJA. And for small businesses, there’s the rub.
In order to demonstrate how this disruption might continue to play out, I’m forecasting how the media will cover it. First, you’ll find a projected headline, then an associated first paragraph, and finally my thoughts on the impact on small businesses, most of which are structured as pass-through entities (Sub S corporations and Limited Liability Companies).