Sullivan Visits Local Businesses to Tout "Working Families Tax Cut Act " Gains, Tax Relief

The Working Families Tax Cuts Act, aka “One Big Beautiful Bill,” legislation that was signed into law last year, promising significant tax changes to benefit families, workers, and businesses, featuring permanent tax cuts, enhanced deductions, increased Child Tax Credits, and new savings vehicles like "Trump Accounts," aiming to provide larger paychecks, boost the economy, and simplify tax filing by making deductions more robust.

On Tuesday, January 20, Senator Dan Sullivan toured several local businesses, putting a spotlight manufacturing and discussing the benefits of the Working Families Tax Cut Act (WFTCA), specifically the provisions to small businesses. He also highlighted the resilience and innovative manufacturing right here in the Mat-Su Valley that may have worldwide implications.

“Between the budget reconciliation that was just passed, that has all the tax provisions and bunch of energy provisions that benefit Alaska, like the LNG project…tax cuts, particularly the full expensing of major capital investments

“If you get good tax incentives, low regulations that don’t crush us, and low-cost energy for 50 to 100 years, you can have major manufacturing in Alaska. That’s the key.”

Senator Sullivan’s tour included stops at Triverus, which manufactures the Municipal Cleaning Vehicle (MCV), built for city cleaning and pervious surface restoration; Montis Corporation, which manufactures the Montis Weather Observation System (MWOS), an advanced weather observation system that provides 360-degree camera images, extensive weather sensor data, tracking data, and a suite of analytics, intended to be installed at airports, vertiports, and roadway locations to improve operational efficiencies; and Alaska Gear Company, which, in addition to their extensive outdoor gear including Bunny Boots and an improved dip net design that has far less drag than a traditional circular or oval profile, reducing the struggle against strong currents, also manufactures key parts for bush planes. These companies, he explained, are on the precipice of expanding their markets to other states and countries that fly bush planes or have need of extreme weather barrier boots, to the military which could benefit from the MCV when landing aircraft on carriers.

“This is exciting,” he enthused.

The tour also included stops at AK Mountain Dog Treats and Big Dipper Homemade Ice Cream, before stopping at Bleeding Heart Brewery in Palmer to further discuss the provisions in the WFTCA.

Senator Sullivan touted the no tax on tips and no tax on overtime provisions, clarifying that provisions, which effect businesses like Bleeding Heart, where the servers’ tips make up half of their income. “With a state that has a got a heavy service economy, no tax on tips is really, really important.”

That provision is already in place, and Senator Sullivan says employees should start seeing the benefits soon.

“That will start to show up this year. Everybody is going to start seeing more dollars in their take-home pay. This bill…essentially extends expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” Senator Sullivan said that if the bill had not been signed, every American would have received a tax increase, from families to c corps businesses to s corps small businesses.

Other impacts for small businesses includes making a 20% pass-through business deduction permanent, encouraging domestic manufacturing through tax incentives, and restoring and making permanent full and immediate expensing for domestic research and development costs and new equipment investments.

“The big thing for businesses is first year, 100% expensing on capital investments.” Meaning if a business owner like Zack Lanphier needs to purchase an additional fermenter for the brewery, he will be able to write the expense off in year one, something the senator says small businesses have been trying to accomplish for decades.

“It’s a real spur to say ‘I’m going to take the risk and spend a ton of money and invest in something like (a fermenter), I get to write the expense off in year one on my taxes.’ So he gets an immediate return on a big investment that helps grow the economy, that helps grow jobs. We think that’s going to have strong pro-growth elements to the economy.”

“That is big,” said the senator, adding, “We think this is going to create a nice bump…and really ramp up the economy.”

He further explained that while the passage of the bill keeps the tax rates the same for families and businesses, some items are focused on working families, including the aforementioned no tax on tips, and tax breaks for seniors 65 and older receiving social security. Those folks will receive a $6,000 tax break on social security individually; $12,000 for a couple, ensuring most seniors pay no income tax on their Social Security benefits.

“Had we not passed this one, every American would have gotten a big tax increase, a grand total of $5 trillion. That would’ve been bad.”

The senator said there are additional provisions in the WFTCA that will “unleash Alaska energy,” which will be further discussed in the next edition.

For more information about the Working Families Tax Cut Act, please visit www.sullivan.senate.gov/wftca