As part of NAMA’s fight for small business on Capitol Hill, the association is leading a communications effort, urging members to submit comments to elected officials in support of a new proposal to reduce the burden the federal tax code imposes on small business.
The new proposal calls for simplifying tax rules for small businesses, making it easier for them to comply. According to Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich), chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, “the result would allow small businesses to spend less time filling out forms and more time creating jobs” because “the current patchwork of complex rules are very difficult to navigate and really leads to a disparate tax treatment.”
“NAMA supports comprehensive tax reform that benefits small business," said Eric Dell, senior vice president of government of affairs for NAMA. "In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, it’s important that policymakers continue to move forward in a pro-growth, pro-small business tax system. We encourage our members to offer comments to the committee to help shape the debate moving forward and to have their voices heard on this important issue,” he continued.
According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), tax compliance costs are 65 percent higher for small businesses than for big businesses, costing small business owners $18 billion to $19 billion per year. In addition, nearly nine out of ten small businesses rely on outside tax preparers. With about half of the private sector workforce employed by a small business – a total of nearly 60 million Americans – these costs, along with tax rates as high as 44.6 percent, are especially burdensome for a sector that has long been responsible for leading the nation out of economic downturns.
The Ways and Means Committee is soliciting comments from stakeholders on two options – one that revises current rules and a second that replaces current tax rules with a new unified pass-through regime. NAMA encourages members to submit comments on these proposed tax reform options by Monday, April 15, 2013. Those comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] and will be included in the final Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) report, which will be delivered to the Ways and Means Committee on May 6, 2013.
