Simplifying Taxes, Tax Filing Is a Win for Hispanic Entrepreneurs
Hispanics are significant drivers of our nation’s economic growth. According to a 2024 Forbes piece, and based on Census Bureau data, 36% of new businesses started in 2023 were started by Hispanic entrepreneurs. As any entrepreneur or small business owner will tell you, the more time you spend on your business – and the less on paperwork – the better.
That’s particularly true when it comes to government paperwork and regulations. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, time very much is money. It’s why deregulation is so often good for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and why deregulation involves simplification. This is also true when it comes to taxes, which is why tax simplification is deregulation. Simple taxes save time. Simple taxes save money.
The less time and money small business owners spend on tax preparation, the more time and money is available to invest in the business, creating jobs and economic value. So, in my view, any time both taxes and tax filing are made simpler, like with the expanded standard deduction that was part of the Trump tax cuts a few years ago, that’s a good thing.
The same is true for working families. Many working families, including many Hispanic working families, qualify for the Child Tax Credit. The CTC is a tax credit for working families with children that’s explicitly linked to work, so the more you earn the better. Under President Trump and the tax simplification he achieved, the credit was doubled to $2,000 per child, a majority of which is refundable based on the family’s earned income. Yet, as we are all painfully aware, $2,000 buys far less today than it did in 2017.
It’s why we need to strengthen the CTC for families that work by restoring its value in real terms, providing optional flexibility in how it’s claimed and making sure it’s linked to inflation, so it doesn’t lose its value again. As well as strong businesses, our nation needs strong families, and working families need a strong CTC. This also means it’s important that the process for filing taxes and claiming the credit be as simple and straightforward as possible.
Now brace yourself, because you may find the following shocking: Apparently, the federal government has created a website that works. Even on your smartphone! The IRS has an updated version of its free filing offerings that provides a simple and free way for Americans – including those claiming the Child Tax Credit – to file their taxes directly with the IRS.
The premise – direct, simple, free, with enhanced customer support – is a step toward saving Americans time and money. Time and money that can be invested in growing businesses, providing more jobs, and raising children.
Indeed, a tool like this is more useful precisely because of the Trump tax cuts, particularly the expanded deduction he also achieved, and it’s built on the same premise: Tax simplification is deregulation. We should all be able to agree that the less time and money Americans spend doing their taxes each year, including small business taxes, the more time and money we have to invest in our businesses.
Unfortunately, entrepreneurs and those who are self-employed are not yet able to file their taxes with this tool – which is why now is the perfect opportunity for the Trump administration to significantly improve tools and technology like this by dramatically improving customer service and enabling small businesses and the self-employed to file their taxes simply and directly as well.
It’s why I was encouraged to hear President Trump’s new treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, testify about tools like this – because the IRS, like all of government, should exist to serve Americans, rather than the other way around.
Of course there’s more to be done, but the ability to file your taxes for free, on your smartphone, in English or Spanish, in less time and directly with the IRS, is certainly a step in the right direction. The result is small businesses and entrepreneurs who create more jobs, produce more wealth, and spend less time on paperwork, as well as stronger families, which means a stronger America.
Which means everyone wins.