Entrepreneur: GOP tax plan has helped with hiring, cash flow

Entrepreneur Tyler Merritt credited the GOP-backed tax plan in helping his company with cash flow and hiring new employees.

“We have no investors, so we’re completely bootstrapped, and that gives us the autonomy to make decisions and move quickly. But one of the things we don’t have is cash. Cash flow is king in any business,” Merritt, who is the CEO and co-founder of Nine Line Apparel, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Ned Ryun on “Rising.”

“With these current tax reforms, it allows us to keep more cash in our own companies so I can hire people faster,” he continued.

“Finding quality employees and getting them into the pipeline is difficult, especially if you’re cash-strapped. So usually it boils down to how much cash do you have in reserve to be able to hire that next person, but we look at them as non-expenses that’s an investment in human capital. We put an incredible amount of time and money into training programs,” Merritt said.

“These opportunities that we have working with the state has allowed us to hire people quicker, but really it boils down to cash,” he said.

President Trump signed the Republican-backed tax reform plan late last year and has since tied it to recent economic growth.

The $1.5 trillion plan gives large tax cuts to corporations and wealthy individuals, as well as more modest for reductions for middle-class and low-income families.

Various small business groups initially expressed skepticism over the plan, saying it would only benefit wealthy corporations.

Merritt’s interview was a part of Hill.TV’s weekly “Freedom to Flourish” series, which is presented by Koch Industries.

— Julia Manchester