05/25/2005
Congress is home next week, and the issues are hot. As your lawmakers are home enjoying the first days of summer May 30-June 3, take the opportunity to remind them of the issues most important to you.
Right now, a key issue for small business – permanent repeal of the death tax – rests in your senators' hands; the House has already passed this legislation. Small-Business Health Plans, another crucial small-business issue, has passed the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and still faces a House vote, but the toughest challenge still lies with the Senate.
Consider the following points when urging your Senators to pass these pieces of legislation:
Death Tax
The way the tax code is currently written, your family could owe taxes – potentially exorbitant taxes – when you pass away, requiring them to sell your family business to satisfy the obligation.
In 2001, Congress passed a 10-year phase out of the death tax, but it didn’t finish the job. While the tax is fully repealed in 2010, it will return in 2011 at a full 55 percent if Congress doesn’t act now.
The House has passed their version of the bill, H.R. 8, but the Senate’s version, S. 420, has yet to be passed.
In the 108th Congress, death-tax legislation easily passed the House but stalled in the Senate. Don’t let the fate of your business get stuck in the Senate again – NFIB and small-business owners nationwide are standing up for family businesses, fighting against this fundamental unfairness in the tax system. Take the time to meet with your senators to share your personal story about how the threat of the death tax affects you. Tell them to pass S. 420 this year.
Small-Business Health Plans (formerly known as AHPs)
Health-care costs are continuing to increase, and small-business owners have few choices when it comes to offering health insurance to employees. These challenges were reinforced in NFIB’s most recent edition of Problems and Priorities, which reports on the most pressing issues facing small business. Health insurance costs were a “critical” issue for 65.6 percent of respondents, the highest percentage for any problem in the survey’s 22-year history.
With Small-Business Health Plans, small-business owners could group together across state lines through their membership in a bona fide trade association, like NFIB, to purchase health coverage for their employees and their families. Such plans would result in lower health-care costs and new coverage options for the working uninsured.
The House passed Small-Business Health Plan legislation twice during the 108th Congress, but the U.S. Senate failed to act.
Tell your lawmakers to pass H.R. 525 (House) and S. 406 (Senate), the Small-Business Health Fairness Act of 2005.
These issues are important to small business; take the time to make appointments with your lawmakers so that they understand the weight of your concerns. Through NFIB.com, you can set up appointments with your lawmakers at the district office closest to you. Just use the first link below to get information on setting up some time with your lawmakers. You’ll also find talking points that you can take with you to the meeting, as well as a place to share feedback with NFIB after your meeting.
Your voice is important to small business – be heard on the issues most important to you.
