Mike Pence, the business mogul’s running mate, has a long history dealing with small business.
Even with Donald Trump running one of the more unpredictable campaigns in recent history, small business owners by now have at least some sense of what to expect should he win the general election. But what about his newly anointed running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence?
Who will be the best small business president?
Voters first elected Pence to Congress in 2000, and he served on the House Small Business Committee from 2001 to 2003, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported. From there, he continued to promote the interests of Main Street.
While in Congress, he voted to amend the Regulatory Flexibility Act in an effort to relieve small business owners from some burdensome regulations, according to the Courier.
“What impressed me was he testified on it and was able to speak in a pretty articulate way about some fairly arcane things in small business regulatory policy that suggested he had a pretty deep understanding of it,” Todd McCracken, president of the National Small Business Association, told the Cincinnati Business Courier.
As governor of Indiana, he signed a bill into law that slashed the corporate income tax from 6.5 percent to 4.9 percent and allowed counties to exempt businesses with fewer than $20,000 worth of equipment from paying property taxes, the Indianapolis Star reported.
He also lowered the state’s flat-rate income tax from 3.4 percent to 3.23 percent and abolished Indiana’s inheritance tax, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
Back in 2007, Pence argued against a minimum wage increase stating, “an excessive increase in the minimum wage will hurt the working poor,” The Huffington Post reported. In 2013, he blocked local governments from mandating that businesses offer wages and benefits beyond federal requirements.
“He implemented policies that our members strongly supported, including the largest tax cut in Indiana history and a regulatory review process that gave small business owners a seat at the table,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan.
*Note: This news coverage does not equate to an endorsement of any candidate by NFIB.
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