Dan Murray, state
director of the National Federation of Independent Business, released the
following statement today in advance of Gov. Sam Brownback’s state-of-the-state
message on Jan. 12:
“We want to hear Governor Brownback say he’s standing
firm on tax relief for small businesses.
“Since he took office five years ago, his leadership on
tax policy has helped small businesses grow and strengthen our economy. Some
people say he cut taxes too much, but the fact is more Kansans are working
today than when he took office. Our unemployment rate has fallen from 6.8
percent in January 2011 to 4 percent in November, the last month for which
figures are available.
“We want the governor to join legislative leaders in
resisting pressure to raise the state minimum wage, a well-meaning but
wrong-headed strategy that economists say would actually lead to fewer jobs for
the people who need them. The fact of the matter is that when you make small
businesses give workers a raise, they can’t afford to hire as many people, and
they can’t afford to take chances on young or inexperienced workers.
“We also want to hear the governor say he’s going to
continue hold the line on Washington’s bait-and-switch Medicaid expansion. It
might work in the short term, but longer term, it will lead to higher taxes,
especially on small businesses, and hurt our economy and our families.”
NFIB/Kansas is the state’s leading small-business
association with 4,200 dues-paying members representing a cross section of the
state’s economy. Learn more at www.NFIB.com/KS
or follow @NFIB_KS on Twitter.
