The Big Beautiful Screwjob: How Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” Lit Us Up for All the Wrong Reasons
Have you ever been promised a gift, only to discover it came with hidden costs for you and your community? For many small business owners like myself, that’s what the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) felt like.
It was presented as a “middle-class miracle,” a landmark reform designed to help Main Street thrive. But for those of us running businesses on the ground—not playing a CEO on television—the reality has been far more complicated. The initial flash of the law has faded, and now we’re dealing with the long-term consequences.
The Promise vs. The Reality of the Deal
The 2017 tax law was passed with the promise of boosting economic growth for everyone. But a closer look at the details reveals a different story, particularly in how it treated large corporations versus small businesses.
Here is how the deal has unfolded for many of us:
A Temporary Reprieve vs. A Permanent Advantage: As a pass-through business, my company received a temporary tax deduction. It was helpful, but it was set to expire from the beginning. In contrast, large C-corporations like Amazon and Exxon received a permanent, deep cut to their tax rate, fundamentally changing their financial landscape for the long haul. → NYT – 2017 Tax Law Favored Corporations Over Small Businesses
A Deficit and a Difficult Choice: The law was projected to add nearly $1.9 trillion to the national deficit. To help offset government revenue loss, the administration later implemented significant tariffs—including the Section 301 tariffs—on goods from China. For my business, this meant the cost of essential supplies, from lighting to electronics, jumped by as much as 25%. We were hit twice: first by a tax law with limited long-term benefits for us, and again by tariffs that directly increased our cost of doing business.
Wall Street Soared, Main Street Scrambled: While the stock market saw record highs, many small businesses were contending with rising costs for labor, insurance, fuel, and materials, without the same permanent relief that larger companies enjoyed.
For many of us, it felt less like a fair deal and more like a missed opportunity to truly support America's small business backbone.
Why It Still Matters as 2025 Approaches
The most critical part of this story is happening now. The tax provisions for pass-through businesses like mine are set to expire in 2025. Meanwhile, the deep tax cuts for large corporations are permanent.
This creates a fundamentally uneven playing field. Those massive corporations, benefiting from sustained tax advantages, can more easily absorb rising costs, invest in automation, and offer lower prices. This leaves local businesses—the ones that use durable, professional-grade materials and provide personalized service—struggling to compete.
It becomes difficult to explain to a client why a quality installation costs what it does when a massive online retailer, who may pay a lower effective tax rate, can sell a similar-looking product for a fraction of the price. → Forbes – Amazon Paid No Federal Taxes
The policies that were supposed to "unleash" small business potential have, in many ways, made it harder for us to operate.
The Real Reason for Higher Prices
Every year, my business lights up neighborhoods, supports local events, and tries to create something special for our community. We do it with our hands and our expertise, not with hedge funds.
So when someone asks why a quote might be higher this year, the answer is complex. It’s not about getting rich. It’s a reflection of a policy environment that has systematically raised our costs while giving our largest competitors a permanent advantage.
We are still here, and we are still committed to making the season bright. But we believe it’s important for our clients to understand the economic realities that shape our work. For businesses like mine, the "Big Beautiful Bill" was one complicated deal, and the bill is still coming due.