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Businesses Barrel Headfirst Into A Tax Mountain As Trump-Era Cuts Taper Off

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Will Kessler Contributor
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A temporary incentive in President Donald Trump’s signature tax law tapered further in 2024, providing less tax relief for businesses reeling from inflation.

Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) established a temporary 100% tax write-off for certain business assets called full expensing, which declined 20% per year starting in 2022, meaning it declined to 60% at the start of 2024, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Full expensing is the process where businesses can deduct capital purchases like new or improved technology, equipment or buildings from their tax bill in an effort to encourage greater reinvestment by companies, according to the Tax Foundation. (RELATED: Number Of EVs Eligible For Tax Credits Plummet As US Seeks To Shrink Reliance On China’s Supply Chain)

The TCJA established huge tax cuts for Americans, lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, bringing the rate to the same level as many other developed nations while also reducing Americans’ payments in five of the seven income tax brackets. The law increased the standard deduction from $6,500 to $12,000 for single filers and $13,000 to $24,000 for joint filers for the tax year it was passed, which has been adjusted every year in accordance with the rate of inflation.

Other provisions, like the rules related to marginal rates, standard deduction amounts, the child tax credit and more, are set to expire in 2025, according to MarketWatch. Shalanda Young, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, told reporters in March 2023 that President Joe Biden “will not support a penny of new taxes for those making under $400,000. Full stop. That includes ensuring that they don’t lose out when these tax cuts expire.”

A range of businesses are feeling the effects of rising inflation and high interest rates as consumers pull back spending, including in the commercial real estate and banking sectors. The Federal Reserve raised its federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% and 5.50% in 2023, the highest point in 22 years, placing upward pressure on the cost of credit in an effort to curb inflation.

Retail businesses are also having to cope with poor sales growth in the 2023 holiday season, with U.S. retail sales from Nov.1 to Dec. 24 rising only 3.1% year-over-year unadjusted for inflation. In contrast, prices rose 3.1% in November year-over-year, far above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, culminating in an over 17% increase in inflation under Biden.

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