Trump Exaggerates ‘Small Business’ Tax Cuts

President Donald Trump exaggerates when he describes a reduction in the top marginal rate for pass-through business income as a boost to small businesses and truckers.

• The president claimed that “more than 30 million” small-business owners would get “a 40 percent cut in their marginal tax rate.” But only 670,000 taxpayers who report business income would earn enough to get that rate reduction.
• Trump said “many American truckers who file taxes as sole-proprietors, S corporations or partnerships” will pay a “substantially lower” top tax rate. Truck drivers, or any other business owner, would have to earn more than $91,900 in taxable income to get a lower top tax rate, and more than $418,400 to see the kind of benefit Trump described.

Trump has made his claim about 30 million small businesses several times, including in a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Oct. 17. And he made claims about both small businesses and truck drivers in an Oct. 11 speech in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to a crowd that included workers in the trucking industry.

 And for small businesses that file taxes as