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PalletCentral • July-August 2020 11 What to Expect, President Trump: If we look behind the media curtain, President Trump's work has overall been positive for small businesses. Wages for blue-collar employees and low unemployment rates have been good for workers. Pre-COVID 19, wages rose by 3 percent last year, nearly 50 percent faster than the previous administration. Wages for the lowest 10 percent of American workers were growing twice as fast. On average, take-home pay was a record of $66,000, and the unemployment rate was a half-century low of 3.5 percent. The Trump tax cuts provided small businesses with a 20 percent tax reduction. Published federal regulatory actions have also fallen after rising substantially during the previous two administrations. The members of NWPCA and the pallet business, in general, have seen benefits from these policies, including the change in a long-standing regulatory hurdle that hindered recycled pallets from being used for wood pellet fuel. The consensus, however, is that the COVID-19 response has been lacking, at best. Presidential Candidate Joe Biden: Biden supports the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in the following ways: (1) providing a guarantee that every qualifying small business will get relief, rather than capping the fund in a way that forces small firms to compete against one another; (2) authorizing more generous loans to keep workers on the payroll and cover fixed costs, and (3) extending the eight-week limitation on payroll forgiveness. Under Biden, taxes will likely increase because of his proposed spending plans for health care, along with environmental and infrastructure initiatives. Expect him to increase the corporate tax rate from 21 to 28 percent and impose higher ordinary and capital gains tax for wealthier individuals. If you file a C-corporation tax return, your rates will go up. If you are the highest-earning tax brackets, your rates will go up. If you have positive capital gains on your investments or selling your business, you and your buyer may not see the benefits you had hoped. Finally, the pallet manufacturing sector may benefit as Biden supports spending on defense and infrastructure – pallets move the world. At the end of the day, one of these two men will be president. I have no prediction who it will be, a lot can happen before November. As a business owner you have your hands full with the day-to- day operations of your business. As you focus on your business, be prepared for a President Trump or President Biden, and try not to get caught up in the news cycle. Luck favors the prepared. I have always said, "follow the money and votes in Washington, DC." When you watch the news, keep in mind that they are money-making machines. Patrick Atagi is vice president, advocacy and external affairs at NWPCA. He also serves as executive director of the NWPCA PAC. He may be reached at 703-519-6104 or patagi@ palletcentral.com.

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