As hundreds of NFIB members met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on June 20, Juanita Duggan, NFIB’s President and CEO, appeared on Fox Business and affirmed the importance of making tax cuts permanent in an interview with anchor Neil Cavuto.
“They’re here to tell Congress they want those tax cuts to be permanent,” Duggan said of members’ meetings with lawmakers. “They need some certainty.”
At NFIB’s annual Fly-In event, which coincided with NFIB’s 75th anniversary celebration, NFIB members urged lawmakers to make key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, including the 20 percent small business deduction for pass-through entities.
According to a recent NFIB member ballot, more than 90 percent of small business owners support permanently extending the expiring provisions of the act.
Absent action from lawmakers, tax cuts for the vast majority of small businesses expire after Dec. 31, 2025, complicating long-term planning for small business owners.
Duggan noted that since the passage of the tax bill, NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index has soared. The index increased in May to the second highest level in the NFIB survey’s 45-year history. Small businesses reported high numbers in several key areas including compensation, profits, and sales trends.
“This is the strongest Main Street economy in 50 years,” Duggan said.
Duggan also said NFIB members were pleased with President Trump’s announcement that his new association health plan rule would be ready this week. Trump made this announcement during his keynote address at NFIB’s 75th anniversary event on June 19 after proposing the rule earlier this year. The president’s AHP rule would allow some small employers, self-employed individuals, and employees to band together as a single group to buy insurance.
“We’re very excited that we’re going to have the opportunity to help our small business owners get better health insurance, better choices, with lower costs,” Duggan said.
Learn more about NFIB’s influential work on tax reform.
