AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is advocating for an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as its expiration date approaches at the end of the year.
On Thursday, the Texas Republican met with small businesses owners at Wally’s Burger Express in northwest Austin to discuss the law’s impact since it’s gone into effect.
Local businesses owners like Robert Mayfield from Wally’s Burger Express and Joni Jack from Roadrunner Radiology told Sen. Cornyn that the law has been a gamechanger for them.
“That’s been very, very helpful to me and any other small businesses, I can imagine,” Mayfield said.
All of them said that the TCJA allowed them to invest in their workforce, by providing better benefits and bonuses to their employees.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
The TCJA, signed into law by President Trump in 2017, reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and increased accelerated depreciation.
That has allowed businesses to immediately write off equipment they have to purchase for their businesses in the first year, which Sen. Cornyn said can help employers provide more benefits to attract and retain their employees.
Cornyn emphasized the law’s importance in an increasingly competitive job market.
“What this would mean is that many of these small benefits would not be able to offer the benefits that they’re able to offer,” Sen. Cornyn said. “They wouldn’t be able to hire the people that they need for these businesses to enable them to grow.”
For Mayfield, that is extremely important for his employees, many of which have been with him for decades that have become more like family.
“When you have a small business and you have your family that you’re taking care of, and you’re taking care of not just your family and your grandchildren, then the people that work for you and their kids too,” Mayfield said.
The TCJA is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, extending the law for another decade would cost the federal government approximately $4.6 trillion.
But Sen. Cornyn maintains that the tax cuts are essential not just for employees, but to support small businesses across Texas and the U.S.