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With Donald Trump returning to the White House, Charlotte business leaders are looking at how his potential policies will affect various sectors, and how quickly.

Some of the major policies businesses are assessing are looser banking regulations, a possible extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, tariff increases and immigration reform.

Let’s get into the details.

Charlotte is a banking capital and Trump’s return to office bodes well for the sector in terms of potentially looser regulations.

“The banking regulations and the capital requirements for banks are going to go down,” said Matthew Metzgar, a clinical professor of economics at UNC Charlotte. “In the short term banks will benefit and I think Charlotte will benefit from that as well.”

One of the biggest impacts will be on the possible decrease in capital requirement. This means what percentage of funds banks must have on hold versus how much they loan out. That minimum is currently about 4.5%, according to the Federal Reserve Board.

Many of the banking regulations Trump proposes to change were put in place by former President Barack Obama in 2010. Obama implemented stricter rules to prevent another financial crisis seen in 2008.

These rules are another balancing act similar to the tax cuts, Metzgar said.

There is some sort of optimal amount of regulation,” Metzgar said. “If regulations are too loose, banks could engage in risky behavior and end up needing bailouts. But if it’s too tight, then it constrains their growth and their ability to compete.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in 2018 and better known as the Trump tax cuts, was a major reform of the tax code that, in short, reduced tax rates for people and businesses.

Some portions of the act have already ended, while others were set to expire at the end of 2025.

Since it was a Trump enacted policy, it’s likely the policy will be reinstated with some changes.

“It’ll probably be modified to cut taxes in a number of different areas,” Metzgar said. “The exact details of the plan will obviously get fleshed out but it seems to be a big priority. As far as beneficiaries, businesses and potentially workers can benefit from that… In general and through basic economic theory, if you cut taxes then you tend to have economic growth.”

Two portions of the act that are on the minds of Charlotte business leaders are the domestic research and development tax credits and the corporate tax rate, according to Joe Bost, the chief advocacy officer at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance.

Businesses were allowed to fully deduct domestic research and development investment costs prior to the tax act, meaning any costs associated with business innovations could be written off immediately.

The tax act required companies to amortize, or gradually write off those development costs, leading to more upfront costs for companies looking into business improvements.

Businesses are hoping for a shift back to full expense capabilities.

“Whether you’re a big business, small business, it gave you the opportunity to see…where you could try to improve your business,” Bost said. “It’s a business friendly provision that helps small businesses more than big businesses. If you’re a smaller business and you are doing research and development, that immediate expensing means a lot more to you than it does a larger business.”

As for the corporate tax rate, Trump has proposed decreasing the rate from the flat 21%, which was part of the tax act, to 15%.

The initial shift to 21% from a fluctuating rate brought a competitive edge to Charlotte-based businesses, Bost said. And as Metzgar said, decreasing taxes can increase economic growth.

However, Metzgar cautioned that a lower tax rate could increase national debt.

The initial tax act has already added about $1 to $2 trillion to the federal debt, according to The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan public policy institute.

If Trump’s plan is enacted, as is, it could add about $7 trillion to the federal debt, according to The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan and non-profit organization that informs the public on fiscal policies.

The current federal debt is $35.9 trillion, according to the U.S. Treasury fiscal data site.

“[Trump’s plan] can increase economic growth, but you also have to fund all these government services and if you have less money coming in the way the U.S. does, it has to borrow the money,” Metzgar said. “You have to balance that. It may increase short term economic growth but as this debt grows larger and larger, at some point that’s going to become a problem for future generations.”

Trump backs tariffs, or taxes put on imported and exported international goods, and has proposed enacting a number of tariff increases. A 10% to 20% “universal” tariff on foreign products is possible, along with a 60% tariff on goods from China, as reported by The New York Times.

Those proposed tariffs could offset the potential economic growth from his tax cut policies but could increase federal revenue, possibly limiting increases to the federal debt, according to a report released by Wells Fargo.

Most economists don’t favor tariffs, Metzgar said.

“Tariffs raise prices for consumers and increase the cost of buying a basket of goods,” Metzgar said. “If you look at general trends in trade over the last 50 years, everything’s been moving towards lower tariffs and that tends to coincide with more economic growth.”

In Trump’s previous term, trade disputes led to increased tariffs put on American goods. For example, a 25% tariff was put on American whiskey by the European Union in 2018, leading to a decline in sales, news outlets previously reported.

But Trump’s tariff plans aren’t set in stone. Bost said the business alliance is keeping an eye on possible enactments and what that means for both big and small businesses in Charlotte.

“It’s too early to tell what trade and tariff policy could look like and what it could mean to Charlotte area businesses,” Bost said.

While it’s unclear what Trump’s final policies will look like or when they will occur, he has said his Day 1 priority will focus on immigration that includes mass deportations, the removal of birthright citizenship, ending Temporary Protected Status and curbing legal immigration.

All of these are just proposals. However, Trump’s previous term did see a reduction in legal immigration and that reduction was a slight burden on the labor force, according to multiple policy institutes.

In North Carolina, about 68% of “foreign-born” individuals participate in the labor force, according to a 2023 report from the North Carolina Department of Commerce. That’s more than the 59.8% of “native-born” North Carolinians.

Charlotte businesses are concerned about how newcomers receive employment authorization, Bost said.

“The immigration system by which you come to the U.S. to work needs improvement,” Bost said. “If we are going to be able to supply our employers with the talent that they need to have thriving businesses in the Charlotte region, we have to have a strong immigration system that works so that people who are capable of filling the jobs, fill the jobs.”

The Charlotte Observer

Desiree Mathurin covers growth and development for The Charlotte Observer. The native New Yorker returned to the East Coast after covering neighborhood news in Denver at Denverite and Colorado Public Radio. She’s also reported on high school sports at Newsday and southern-regional news for AP. Desiree is exploring Charlotte and the Carolinas, and is looking forward to taking readers along for the ride. Send tips and coffee shop recommendations.

It’s no shock the United State has a housing shortage.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition reports that there is a deficit of 7.3 million affordable rental homes. But older homes, particularly built before 1970, may be the key to solving the crisis.

Donovan Rypkema, housing expert and president of Heritage Strategies International, lectured about preserving older homes to maintain affordability at UNC Charlotte’s Center City campus last month.

“Older and historic buildings are the solution, not the problem,” he said. “We are systematically tearing down what’s affordable and building what’s not.”

Demolition of older housing has outpaced new construction, Rypkema said, adding that nearly half of all renter households in America are cost-burdened – defined by spending over 30% of their income on housing alone – consistent with data from the Census Bureau. To add, 26% of households are severely cost-burdened (11.8 million households).

“Ten times the population of all of Mecklenburg County,” he said.

According to the North Carolina Housing Coalition, 32% of all households in Mecklenburg County are cost burdened. In addition, 73% of all low-income households receive no housing assistance. Though rent and housing prices have risen, incomes have not kept pace with a median home price of $433,100 compared to 74,600 household income. Since 1987, household income has risen 105% compared to 275% for housing costs.

“We can’t have these two lines separated and not expect to have a severe housing crisis,” Rypkema said.

Projected for the next 10 years, 6 million new jobs will be created, but 1/3 of those job swill be in the service industry, with only $23,000 median salary. That allows for only $600 monthly expense on housing alone.

As prices rise, demand falls and vice-versa. However, that’s not what is happening, Rypkema said.

“This isn’t a Marxist, socialist thing,” Rypkema said. “This is market failure,” adding there must be some government intervention.

Myths about historic housing are that they’re too small, not what buyers want, or worth renovating.

Ninety percent of housing built before 1970 is deemed adequate housing; and the repairs that most other homes need are for water-damaged roofs. By income and demographics, the people living in these cheaper, older homes are Black, Hispanic, women, elderly and disabled people. Right now, there are about 5 million housing units built before 1970 that are vacant.

Data shows that these homes would suit first-time home buyers, young families, and empty-nesters. The National Association of Realtors reports that most new homebuyers are millennials (37%), and 57% of first-time buyers bought homes built before 1950.

Historic preservation can save these homes – 94% of pre-1970 housing has no historic protection. Historic preservation can be leveraged to fight displacement, especially amongst historically marginalized communities.

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Albemarle Corp. — the world’s largest lithium miner — is taking additional cost-saving steps, including laying off hundreds employees, following a loss of more than $1 billion as lithium prices continue to fall.

The Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing company is eliminating up to 7% of its global workforce, representing 15% of non-manufacturing jobs, CEO Kent Masters said Thursday during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.

Albemarle has about 1,100 employees in Charlotte and Kings Mountain, and upwards of 7,000 workers globally, company spokesman Peter Smolowitz confirmed Thursday.

That means this round of job cuts could affect nearly 500 employees.

It’s the second round of layoffs this year at Albemarle. In January, the company detailed a more than $750 million cost-cutting plan, that included job cuts. The company refused to say how many but confirmed it did include layoffs in the Charlotte region.

“We have eliminated nearly 1,000 roles, including all the actions announced this year,” Masters said Thursday during the call.

The latest round of cuts will save $300 million to $400 million each year moving forward, he said.

The cost-savings measures this time are “eliminating redundancies, reducing management layers and optimizing manufacturing costs,” Masters said.

Albemarle also said Thursday it is cutting 2025 capital expenses in half by up to $900 million to adapt to lithium market conditions. Lithium prices have fallen because of weakening demand and oversupply.

Lithium prices are about half of what they were a year ago, leading to an oversupply and negative sentiment for Albemarle, public equity analyst Dair Sansyzbayev said Tuesday on financial industry website Seeking Alpha.

“We’re trying to create the flexibility to pivot up if the market returns, but we’re going to be a little conservative to make sure it really changed and we’re just not in a cycle,” Albemarle Chief Financial Officer Neal Sheorey said.

Albemarle announced other cost savings measures this year.

Last month, Albemarle detailed restructuring of its leadership operations “to maintain long-term competitiveness.”

In January, along with Albemarle’s $750 million cost-cutting plan, the company deferred two Carolina projects: a $1.3 billion mega-flex lithium conversion facility in Richburg, S.C., in Chester County and a $200 million investment to establish Albemarle Technology Park research and development facility in the University City.

In June, Albemarle unveiled its site plan for the nearly 1,200-acre Kings Mountain lithium mine in Cleveland County, about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

North Carolina is among a few places in the world where lithium mining is possible. Large green areas in white pegmatite rock called spodumene are extracted to make lithium. Albemarle’s lithium mine is expected to produce about 420,000 tons of lithium-bearing spodumene concentrate per year.

In September, Albemarle submitted 13 state and federal permits to reopen the dormant lithium mine that closed in the late 1980s. In 2015, Albemarle acquired Rockwood Holdings’ Kings Mountain site.

The company has not said how much the massive project will cost, but projects like this can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

The permit process is expected to take two years, followed by another two-and-a-half years to build the mine, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

“The Kings Mountain is a project we continue to push and invest in,” Masters said Thursday.

This story was originally published November 7, 2024, 1:37 PM.

The Charlotte Observer

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Catherine Muccigrosso is a business reporter for The Charlotte Observer. An award-winning journalist, she has worked for multiple newspapers and McClatchy for more than a decade.

A lottery player’s age led him to a jackpot win — and it “came right on time.”

Jamar Tillman of North Carolina may buy a new house after he discovered his ticket was worth $200,000.

“I about passed out,” Tillman told the N.C. Education Lottery in a Nov. 6 news release. “It felt great though.”

Tillman hit the jackpot after he stopped at Green Street Grocery in High Point. At the store, he spotted a scratch-off that was in slot No. 44 on the lottery ticket dispenser.

Jamar Tillman of High Point used his age to choose which scratch-off to buy on Sunday, a strategy that produced a $200,000 top prize! Learn more ️ https://t.co/N1vpaUPVYB pic.twitter.com/p5s5HIap4J

— NC Education Lottery (@nclottery) November 6, 2024

“I’m 44 years old and when I saw the scratch-off on No. 44, I decided to buy that one,” Tillman said in the release.

His strategy paid off when his $5 ticket made him much richer. He beat more than 1-in-a-million odds to score the top prize in the Triple Red 777’s game, according to the lottery’s website.

Tillman, who is from High Point, kept $143,001 after taxes.

It’s not the first time a number with a personal meaning has led someone to score a windfall. Another lottery player won with picks inspired by the ZIP code of his new North Carolina property, McClatchy News reported.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

A Powerball player just missed the jackpot prize — but still has a lot to celebrate in North Carolina.

The player bought a ticket that matched all but one number picked in the Nov. 6 drawing, making it worth $50,000, results show.

The winning numbers: white balls 12-17-37-58-62, with red Powerball 4.

The lucky ticket matched four of the white balls and the red ball to win big. The winner bought it at a QuikTrip convenience store in Cornelius, a roughly 20-mile drive north from uptown Charlotte, the N.C. Education Lottery told McClatchy News in an email.

A #NCLottery player purchased a #Powerball ticket from Quik Trip on Burton Lane in #Cornelius and won a $50,000 prize in last night's drawing! Remember to check your tickets! pic.twitter.com/NAXDHVFXp5

— NC Education Lottery (@nclottery) November 7, 2024

Though the player is set to get richer, the person was one number away from the jackpot prize. No one in the country hit the jackpot, which stood at an estimated $76 million the night of the drawing, according to the Powerball website.

In North Carolina, lucky Powerball players have about six months to claim their prizes. As of about 9 a.m. Nov. 7, the $50,000 winner hadn’t cashed in yet, according to a lottery spokesperson.

To score the jackpot in the Powerball, a player must match all five white balls and the red Powerball.

The odds of scoring the jackpot prize are 1 in 292,201,338.

Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times and price vary by state.

Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.