By Thomas Ubbing (April 19, 2018, 3:13 PM EDT) -- Current estimates are that freelancers make up to 34 percent of the U.S. labor force. This percentage is expected to grow to 40 percent by the year 2020. By passing the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act in December 2017, President Trump and the Republican Congress gave many of these independent contractors a significant Christmas present that will continue to give until 2025. Under the TCJA, many freelancers will have the ability to exclude 20 percent of their earned income. W-2 employees, however, are specifically excluded from this favorable tax break. Although this favoring of independent contractors over W-2 employees is new at the federal level, Ohio was ahead of the curve in enacting legislation providing tax breaks to independent contractors. In 2013, Ohio enacted a favorable small business deduction for Ohio income purposes. Starting in 2016, this deduction permitted Ohio taxpayers with business income to exclude 100 percent of the first $250,000 of business income and then to only pay a favorable 3 percent tax rate on business income in excess of such amount. Although it appears the intent of the Ohio small business deduction was to encourage job creation, income earned by freelancers is eligible for this exclusion....