Small business owners’ optimism at record high after tax overhaul

Small business owners’ optimism in the economy is at a record high after the passage of tax reforms late last year, according to a new poll. 

Confidence rose among small business owners by five points from the last quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, from 57 to 62 on the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index. That marks an all-time high for the poll. 

The renewed assuredness in the economy comes after President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law in December. The bill made the largest single reduction to the corporate tax rate in U.S. history, reducing it from 35 percent to 21 percent. {mosads}

According to the poll, twice as many small business owners now say they believe tax reforms will help their business as did in last quarter’s survey.

The poll adds to evidence that support for the tax-reform package is growing, as did a recent New York Times poll that recorded a majority of Americans, 51 percent, in support of the law. 

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey poll surveyed 2,080 self-identified small business owners from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.