Late last month, Forbes ran an article claiming that President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was hurting small businesses with their ruthless cuts. This report indicated that small business owners were hurting and dissatisfied with Trump as a result. Other news outlets, such as Newsweek, have echoed these claims as well.
However, a new poll conducted by John McLaughlin and Scott Rasmussen on behalf of the Job Creators Network Foundation, shared exclusively with Townhall, found that the majority of small business sentiment remains “historically high” with the new presidential administration and that the majority of small businesses support DOGE. JCNF does a regular survey of 400 small business owners regarding the economy and other relevant issues.
The majority of respondents (65 percent) support the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Fifty-nine percent of respondents said that passing Trump’s new tax cuts with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security will make it easier to attract workers. Sixty-three percent of respondents support amending the U.S. Constitution to require Congress to pass balanced budgets without adding to the federal deficit.
Seventy-six percent of small businesses in the poll said that they support education freedom, also known as “school choice.” In this situation, education tax dollars would “follow the student” rather than funding public schools. Trump is a champion for school choice.
In the poll, respondents indicated that they want the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans to focus on extending and expanding the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Specifically, Small businesses support extending the TCJA by a four-to-one margin, with 21 percent saying they’ll expand operations if this happens. Seventy-six percent of small businesses support expanding the TCJA small business deduction from 20 percent to 25 percent, as well.
Seventy-nine percent of respondents in the poll said that they support Congress advancing legislation that would lower credit card "swipe fees" for small businesses.
Additionally, the Job Creators Network’s Small Business IQ is currently at 61.9. This is on a scale of 0 to 100. This figure is an improvement to the Small Business IQ recorded during President Joe Biden’s time in office, where, at one point, was 52.5, the lowest ever recorded.
“Small businesses are still feeling the effects of Biden Administration policies, but sentiment remains historically high thanks to President Trump's deregulation, cost-cutting, and pro-energy policies,” Elaine Parker, the president of the Job Creators Network Foundation, said. “To maintain and boost small business confidence, Washington must extend and expand the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as soon as possible. Small businesses need tax certainty now."
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