Why Many Latino Small Business Owners Rely On The 2017 Tax Cuts

When Angelica Betancourt heard her daughter’s diagnosis, her plans changed.  

She knew her 9-to-5 wouldn’t give her the time and money her daughter needed, so she opened a small business — and the 2017 Trump tax cuts helped her make that dream a reality.  

She bought a small food cart and fryer and started Qué Más Pues, her own Colombian street food business, in the streets of Raleigh, North Carolina. She became one of the millions of Latino business owners in America.  

With hard work and determination, Angelica was able to build her business from the ground up — giving her both the time and money to care for her daughter.  

However, there’s a looming threat that could undo Angelica’s years of work and risk: the expiration of the 2017 Trump tax cuts.  

Starting a small business is no easy task. 

Starting a small business isn’t easy, especially in the food industry. Costs are high, profit margins are small, and competition is fierce.   

High taxes make a tough business even tougher, as every dollar entrepreneurs pay to Washington is one less they can use to grow and improve their business.  

“You hear stories of small business owners barely making it because of taxes,” Angelica said.  

Thankfully, for almost eight years, small business owners like her have had more money to invest in their business thanks to one policy: the 2017 Trump tax cuts.  

One policy, millions of businesses thrive 

Angelica’s business is thriving in no small part thanks to the tax cuts.  

Here’s how:  

• For most entrepreneurs, an individual tax cut is a small business tax cut since many report business income on their personal tax returns.  

• Provisions like the 100% bonus depreciation and a higher standard deduction made it easier for businesses to expand and thrive.  

• For Latino business owners, who are more likely to finance their business with personal capital instead of loans, these cuts were critical lifelines.  

Of course, it was Angelica’s hard work, grit, and creativity that made Qué Más Pues a success. But the 2017 tax cuts created the business-friendly environment that she — and millions of others — needed to turn dreams into reality. 

In Angelica’s own words, the tax cuts gave small business owners “a bit of breathing room.”  

Latino prosperity at risk  

Over the last few years, there’s been a Latino small business boom across America. One in four new small businesses in America is Latino-owned and operated.  

But that momentum is now in danger.   

Millions of Latino business owners, like Angelica, built their companies during a time when lower taxes made investing, growing, and hiring easier. If the 2017 Trump tax cuts expire, many could face a massive financial hit — paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars more each year in taxes. 

That means less money for equipment, fewer new hires, and fewer chances to expand.   

For Angelica, who wants to open a brick-and-mortar location for Qué Más Pues, a tax hike would be disastrous.  

“It would be a heavy blow; we’d have to raise prices or reduce staff. Everything we’ve built could stall,” Angelica said.  

That’s not the only way the tax hike could wreak havoc.  

With families sending more of their income to Washington, they would have less to spend on small businesses like Angelica’s. 

The average American family will pay $1,500 more in taxes every year, and in some states, the burden will be heavier. In North Carolina, for example, the expiration of the Trump tax cuts would cost the average family an additional $2,265 in new taxes every year. 

The combination of higher taxes and a slower economy could deliver a devastating one-two punch that threatens the Latino small business boom that has been years in the making. 

Stand up for small businesses. 

For Angelica, extending the tax cuts isn’t about numbers — it’s about lives.  

The government shouldn’t force hardworking, driven people like Angelica out of business. Instead, it should get out of the way and create enough economic freedom for them to thrive.  

That’s why The LIBRE Initiative launched the Protecting Prosperity campaign.  

We’re mobilizing our powerful grassroots army to ensure that Washington extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts so business owners like Angelica can keep building their American Dream.  

But we need your help. 

Sign the petition and join the movement. Tell Congress to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts now.