As VP, JD Vance will promote pro-small business, pro-Main Street policies

As a small business owner, I am optimistic about the role Ohio native JD Vance will play as part of the incoming Trump administration. The soon-to-be vice president will help President Trump drive a pro-small business policy agenda, creating jobs and economic opportunity for millions of Americans.

In the Senate, Vance has a strong track record of fighting for Main Street. He supported efforts to make permanent a 20% small business tax deduction that is set to expire in 2025. Amid the punishing inflation and regulatory onslaught of the last four years, that tax benefit was one lifeline small businesses could grab onto.

Vance also cosponsored bipartisan legislation that would help alleviate high credit card “swipe fees,” which are often the second highest operating expense for small businesses behind labor costs. The law would give small businesses more options on how to process customer payments − a dynamic that would foster free market competition to lower costs.

Vance’s affinity for pro-small business policies is a positive sign for what is in our future. Over the next four years, there will be a litany of opportunities for the Trump administration − and its allies in Congress − to shore-up Main Street.

Priority number one should be making permanent the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) — federal legislation that was initially passed during the first Trump administration that fueled a small business boom. That tax law expanded small businesses’ ability to immediately expense capital investment, lowered tax rates and created a special deduction that benefitted many small business owners, among other provisions.

Together, these TCJA elements – which are set to expire at the end of next year – encouraged entrepreneurs to expand facilities and grow operations, hire more workers, increase wages and bolster employee benefits. According to an analysis from the Tax Foundation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is estimated to add 1.4 million jobs to the economy by 2025.

Reforming the regulatory state is also shaping up to be a priority of the incoming White House. Given that the onslaught of new government regulations implemented under the Biden administration has cost businesses upwards of $1.4 trillion, the pruning is sorely needed. The Corporate Transparency Act is a good example of such draconian government overreach and needs to be rescinded.

Large corporations have the luxury of propping up legal departments to navigate regulatory mazes and paperwork. Small businesses, on the other hand, do not. In fact, the average per employee cost of regulatory compliance for manufacturing businesses with fewer than 50 employees is double that of large firms in the same sector.

Using the White House’s bully pulpit to push proposals like the Prove It Act over the finish line would be a good first step. That common sense legislation requires federal agencies to give small businesses a bigger seat at the table when new regulations are being implemented − ensuring the interests of Main Street are strongly considered.

Mirroring a policy from Trump’s first term in office, the White House should also direct federal agencies to eliminate two regulations for every new one added.

The fondness for tax cuts and deregulation is encouraging, but Vance should be careful about other policies that would cause small businesses to become collateral damage. Tariffs are a prime example. While potential tariffs on imported goods could be a negotiation tactic with countries like China, small manufacturing businesses like mine end up paying the price, even being forced out of business due to the inability to compete on a global scale.

While there may be hurdles like tariffs, small businesses in Ohio and across the country have reason to be optimistic about the policy agenda of the incoming Trump administration. I’m glad Ohioan Vance is helping to steer the ship. Perhaps one day he may even add his name to the list of Ohio-born presidents.

Gary James is the president of Dynalab, Inc., a small manufacturer of electronic products based in Reynoldsburg. He is also a partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation.