"small business" to national politicians typically means you employee under 500 people. Almost no one considers "self-employed" or "1-3 people" as "small business" when crafting tax legislation.
I certainly consider "self-employed" and "I have a couple folks on payroll" to be "small business", but it's just not in the same league as the local brewery employing 85 people, for example.
Perhaps we need the term "micro business" to gain more traction? I suspect that's where more work is heading.