NFIB

On Saturday, April 14, NFIB/Texas Leadership Council member Andy Ellard hosted U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and other small-business associations at his business, Manda Machine Co., in Dallas.

Sen. Cornyn held a press conference on the need for simplification of the tax code, stressing the need for common sense and more transparency.

"A majority of taxpayers now depend on a preparer ... to help them file their own taxes. The code shouldn't be so complex that families and entrepreneurs are not able to fill their own taxes," Cornyn said.

Families and entrepreneurs alike spend billions of dollars and thousands of hours trying to do the right thing and comply with the IRS code. In fact, they will spend over 6 billion hours complying with the federal income tax code, with an estimated compliance cost of over $265 billion. Unfortunately, estimates are that this compliance burden will continue to increase.

Cornyn also pointed out that Americans will also work longer this year to pay for government (120 days) than they will to pay for food, housing and clothing combined (105 days). In fact, Americans will work longer to afford federal taxes (79 days) than they will to afford housing (62 days), heath and medical care (52 days), transportation (30 days) and clothing (13 days).

NFIB/Texas fully supports the senator's call for simplification of the current tax code. We thank him for working on the issues that matter to our members.

Special thanks go to Andy Ellard for his continued leadership and his willingness to go above and beyond to champion small-business causes. He hosted about 20 attendees representing organizations like the Associated Builders and Contractors, The Dallas Restaurant Association and the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

Thank you, Andy, for doing your part to keep Texas "Open for Small Business!"