01/29/2008
CONTACT: Candace Daly, 801-599-8519 or Kim Noble, 310-743-1626
Annual meeting with lawmakers held to forge legislative agenda
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- Small business owners from around Utah will gather in Salt Lake City on Feb. 11 to discuss and refine their legislative agenda for the session that started last week.
"We must constantly remind all stakeholders in an economy that small businesses are not smaller versions of big businesses, but instead have different difficulties in remaining solvent," said Candace Daly, Utah state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. "Among those differences are the facts that small businesses pay almost twice as much as big businesses do to comply with the same regulations; that personal -- not corporate -- tax rates matter more to smaller entrepreneurs; and that whereas 99 percent of big companies can afford health care for their employees, less than half of small business owners can afford to do so, and states can help or hurt when it comes to access and cost."
NFIB/Utah Small-Business Days at the Capitol have become a must-attend event for state policymakers who appreciate the fact that small businesses employ more working Utahans than big businesses do and generate the vast majority of new jobs. Key legislative leaders stopped by last year's Small-Business Day at the Capitol event to give their thoughts on fostering a healthy small business climate.
Jason Perry, executive director of the governor's Office of Economic Development, will address the gathering at 9:30 a.m. With a staff of 70, Perry also oversees the Office of Tourism and the Utah Film Commission. During his tenure, Utah has been rated one of the most dynamic state economies by Forbes magazine, the Kauffman 2007 State New Economy Index, and by Pollina Corporate of Chicago.
The NFIB/Utah Small-Business Day at the Capitol is open to all small business owners, whether or not they are NFIB members, and costs $15 in advance or $25 at the door, which includes lunch with legislators. Further information is available at www.nfib.com/UT or from NFIB Member Support Manager Kim Noble at 310-743-1626. Interested small business owners can register by visiting our events calendar. Media are invited to attend compliments of NFIB/Utah.
NFIB/Utah Small-Business Day at the Capitol
Monday, Feb. 11
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
State Office Building Auditorium
Capitol Complex
Salt Lake City
