Washington,
DC (July 21, 2015) – Roughly 150 small business owners from around the
country are preparing to storm the Hill Thursday as part of a national fly-in
organized by the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB).
“Our credibility as an organization comes from our
members,” said NFIB Policy Director
Kevin Kuhlman. “One of the most
effective ways for us to educate members of Congress on the key issues is to
let them hear directly from the small business owners they represent.”
NFIB members will arrive in Washington on
Wednesday afternoon. On Thursday they
break up into groups that will meet with members and staff in the House and
Senate. They’ll advocate for, among
other things, an amendment to the Affordable Care Act that will allow small
business owners to reimburse employees for the purchase of individual policies,
a practice that that many owners prefer but which is now illegal under a
controversial IRS rule.
Members will also ask Congress to make permanent a
provision of the IRS Tax Code (section 179) that allows small business owners
to expense up to $500,000 of the cost of a major capital investment. That provision reverted to a much lower
$25,000 level at the end of last, which is highly inadequate for the needs of
small businesses. It must be extended
continually by Congress, creating lots of uncertainty for small business owners
and their customers.
Another major issue for small business owners is
the proliferation of costly regulations from Washington. The Small Business Regulatory Flexibility
Improvements Act, which already passed the House with bipartisan support,
ensures that small business is represented early in the regulatory process.
“There is strong support for all of these issues on
both sides of the aisle and our goal for the fly-in is to create some momentum
for legislative action,” said Kuhlman.
“Our policy team does a very good job of educating members of Congress
on these issues but there’s no one better to explain how these policies affect
small business than the people who have to live with them.”
For more information about the NFIB member fly-in
please contact Jack Mozloom. For more
information about NFIB please visit www.nfib.com.
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