Tax Reform: A Boost To Small Businesses, Job Creation

Small Businesses ‘Are The Cornerstone Of The U.S. Economy’ But ‘Their Top Federal Rate Is … Substantially Higher’ Than That For Large Multinational Corporations

JUANITA DUGGAN, NFIB President And CEO: “Businesses with 500 employees or fewer are the cornerstone of the U.S. economy. There are 29.6 million of them in the U.S., and they represent 99.9% of all businesses. Small businesses employ 58 million Americans, or 48% of the workforce.” (Juanita Duggan, Op-Ed, “Cut Business Taxes for the 99.9%,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/2017)

• JUANITA DUGGAN: “[T]hree-quarters of American small businesses pay taxes as individuals. Their top federal rate is 43.3%, which is substantially higher than the current top rate for large multinational firms. When state burdens are added, small businesses are sending close to half their income to the tax man…. If the point of tax reform is to boost the economy, it must start with small business.” (Juanita Duggan, Op-Ed, “Cut Business Taxes for the 99.9%,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/2017)

• JUANITA DUGGAN: “The National Federation of Independent Business asks its members periodically to evaluate 75 commonly faced problems. Last year, 5 of the top 10 problems were related to taxes. Their taxes are too high, they tell us. The tax code is too complicated. The cost of compliance in terms of money and time is enormous. And the rules change too frequently.” (Juanita Duggan, Op-Ed, “Cut Business Taxes for the 99.9%,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/2017)

‘Small-Business Owners Spend Nearly Two Billion Hours And $18 Billion To Pay Their Taxes’

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): “I met with a bunch of small business owners yesterday from Ohio to talk about sort of the basic outline of the tax reform proposal. They like it … they're companies that will benefit from the kind of tax relief we're talking about. And what they would do with that money is invest in their businesses and create more jobs.” (Bloomberg, 9/14/2017)

SEN. DEAN HELLER (R-NV): “For too long, Nevada’s and America’s small businesses and companies have been at a competitive disadvantage due to our outdated and unfair tax code…. Our current tax code distorts the marketplace, drags down the economy, and prevents American job creators from staying and hiring back home.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)

• HELLER: “…after eight years of historically low growth under the previous administration, it's time to get our economy back on track, help our workers and small businesses win on the international playing field.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)

• TROY LEWIS, Past Chair, Tax Executive Committee, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: “… [the tax code] sure could be less complex. So anything that you can do along those lines to make it less complex would benefit all businesses in our country.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): “I was a small business owner for about 15 to 16 years and … [a]nother important factor is the complexity of the [tax] code and the amount of time small business owners spend preparing for the dreaded [tax] season [deadlines] …” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)

SEN. CLAIRE McCASKILL (D-MO): “It is unbelievable how complicated it is for small businesses because there’s not a consistency within the [tax] code … I can’t imagine the productivity that is lost in terms of tax decisions that are being made just because of that added layer of complexity.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)

JUANITA DUGGAN: “Tax reform cannot succeed if it doesn’t simplify the tax code, which currently exceeds 70,000 pages. Each year, according to the Internal Revenue Service, small-business owners spend nearly two billion hours and $18 billion to pay their taxes. Large corporations are able to deal with taxes with legions of lawyers, accountants and compliance professionals. Small-business owners must either do the work themselves or hire costly consultants.” (Juanita Duggan, Op-Ed, “Cut Business Taxes for the 99.9%,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/13/2017)

SCOTT HODGE, Tax Foundation President: “Americans spend close to 9 billion hours complying with the U.S. tax system. The corporate part of that code is the most complex and the most costly. Things like the depreciation schedules … cost U.S. businesses about $23 billion a year in compliance costs. This is money that is not only drained from businesses, but it’s time taken away from entrepreneurs…. This is wasted energy, wasted time, wasted resources that go to complying with the IRS rather than trying to build a business.” (U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing, 9/19/2017)