NSBA, Members of Congress Urge Broad Tax Reform
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
By: Molly Brogan

National Small Business Association

Washington, D.C. – NSBA President Todd McCracken today joined a coalition of tax reform advocates from both the House and Senate calling for broad tax reform in-line with the Fair Tax Act of 2011 (H.R. 25.) According to NSBA’s 2012 Small Business Taxation Survey, more small businesses cite administrative burdens (56 percent) as their chief concern with federal taxes than do financial burden (44 percent.)

“Despite a number well-intended, targeted tax proposals aimed at helping America’s small businesses, addressing the ever-growing complexity with federal taxes must be a top priority,” stated McCracken.

NSBA was the first national small-business group to endorse the Fair Tax more than a decade ago, and continues to urge lawmakers to embrace its far more equitable, common-sense way of collecting taxes. The Fair Tax would replace the current system with a national 23 percent sales tax, and, according to NSBA’s survey, is supported by the majority of small businesses.

Underscoring the need for reform, NSBA’s survey also shows that 85 percent of small businesses must pay an external accountant or tax practitioner to handle their taxes. Furthermore, the number of small-business owners who report spending more than two weeks dealing with federal taxes jumped from 57 percent to 64 percent in the last year.

“Beyond the crippling effect the tax code is having on small business, there are huge implications for growth in the U.S. economy,” McCracken went on to say. “Among our chief concerns as a nation these days are job creation and deficit reduction, neither can be achieved in a vacuum, nor can they be optimized without some kind of meaningful tax reform.”

The fact that 79 percent of respondents to the NSBA survey say that federal taxes have a moderate to significant impact on their day-do-day operations ought to be a wake-up call to the pervasiveness of the tax burden. The small-business owners who spend three weeks per year on federal taxes (28 percent) or who spend in excess of $10,000 annually (35 percent) just on the administration of federal taxes aren’t spending that time and money on creating new jobs, innovating new technologies or increasing productivity.

NSBA strongly urges Congress to begin a serious and meaningful discussion on tax reform.

Celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2012, NSBA continues to advocate on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. A staunchly nonpartisan organization, NSBA reaches more than 150,000 small businesses across the country and is proud to be the nation’s first small-business advocacy organization. For more information, please visit www.nsba.biz.

The NSBA's press release is available here.