Not passing One Big Beautiful Bill may kill 6 mn US jobs: NAM report

More than 1.1 million jobs in the manufacturing sector and nearly six million jobs overall will be lost if US Congress fails to extend the tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, according to a new report by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) based on a survey by EY.

If Congress does not act, manufacturers will face higher taxes on pass-through businesses and family-owned firms; increased cost for research and development, capital equipment purchases and business loans; and an uncompetitive international tax regime that disincentivises investment in the United States and hampers manufacturers’ ability to compete globally, according to the report.

More than 1.1 million jobs in the manufacturing sector and nearly six million jobs overall will be lost if US Congress fails to extend the tax cuts in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
If Congress does not act, manufacturers will face higher taxes on pass-through businesses and family-owned firms and higher cost in many areas.

These are “negative effects on small businesses that are swift, severe, and completely avoidable,” the White House said in an article on its website.

Over 96 per cent of businesses in America are organised as pass-throughs, meaning that they pay tax at individual income tax rates. Tax reform created a 20 per cent deduction to allow these small businesses to compete on a level-playing field with their peers organised as corporations.

The pass-through deduction will expire completely at the end of 2025. The survey found that 93 per cent of pass-through manufacturers reported that the loss of this deduction will harm their ability to grow, create jobs and invest in their business.

The combination of the reduction in the top rate and the 20-per cent pass-through deduction resulted in significant tax savings for these small businesses—enabling them to invest in new equipment, machinery, facilities and job creation.

More than 74 per cent of manufacturers have fewer than 20 employees, so “it is crucial to the sector that Congress preserve tax reform’s competitive tax rates for small businesses,” the survey report said.

“If Congress does not act, accelerated depreciation will be entirely absent from the US tax code for the first time in decades—limiting manufacturers’ ability to invest in the equipment and machinery they need to drive economic growth and job creation and making it more costly for businesses to invest in the US,” it noted.

More than 90 per cent of businesses in America are family-owned. In the manufacturing industry, family-owned businesses are a critical part of the manufacturing supply chain and pillars of their local communities.

“The estate tax exemption threshold is scheduled to be reduced by half at the end of 2025, subjecting more family business assets to taxation and threatening the viability of these businesses when the owner passes away. Congress should protect family-owned manufacturers by preserving the increased exemption threshold,” the report added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)