Small business owners from across the nation speak out in NFIB video series
Congress continues to consider a variety of tax increases and new mandates on small businesses as part of the ongoing battle to pass the Build Back Better Act. In response, small business owners are speaking out as part of NFIB’s In Their Own Words video series to let Congress know how proposed tax increases threaten their businesses’ ability to operate, survive, and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest video in the series features Stan Crader, owner of Crader Distributing in Missouri. His business was started by his grandfather in 1944 and has stayed in business ever since. Crader expresses concerns about the estate tax, which could impact his ability to pass on the family business to the next generation.
Crader explains, “The unnecessary taxation just eludes the financial strength of a small business. It can hurt a community, particularly a business such as ours if we’re the primary employer in the community, and we had to come up with a huge amount of cash – it could cause a business to be sold. If it was sold, likely the new owners will move the business to a different location that they would think would be better logistically…there’s all kinds of things that could happen. None of them good with the estate tax.”
Wayne Rabalais, owner of Rabalais Business Consulting in Lafayette, Louisiana, spoke out in a January video for the In Their Own Words series. His company has been in business for over 40 years and it specializes in helping small businesses with different issues including tax preparation, accounting, and SBA loans.
“I’m against anything new…leave what we have alone and work with small businesses to where they bring more money home so they can inject more money into the economy,” Wayne said, also mentioning that new taxes would lead to new layers of bureaucracy for businesses to navigate. “Any type of tax increase right now will be detrimental to small businesses in all areas, especially in south Louisiana, we’ve gone through several hurricanes…businesses are hurting. It would be the same as businesses that are going through forest fires, tornadoes, floods. The small business folks that we talk about provide almost 80% of all the new jobs in this country.”
Jason Hall, the owner of seafood company Washington Crab, spoke out in a video released in December. Jason is a U.S. military veteran who has owned Washington Crab alongside his wife for two years but the company is a North Carolina coastal staple which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2022.
“We are definitely concerned about the tax increases that the current administration is proposing to Congress,” said Jason in his video. He mentioned that one number floated has been a 5% tax increase, but this supposedly “small” tax hike would significantly impact Washington Crab. He also describes Washington Crab’s profit-sharing system, where employees are paid more based on the performance of the business:
“When we bought this business two years ago, we took everyone’s pay rate, for entry-level was in the $8-$9 range and now we’re in that $10-$12 range. For our more seasoned employees and especially the salaried employees, every one of them has gone up 20-30%. But that’s the extra profit, that extra 5-10% that doesn’t sound like a lot to everybody but to a business owner that makes a huge difference on our bottom line and how we can compensate our employees.”
To join in the fight to stop the Build Back Better Act’s small business tax increases and mandates, please consider emailing your U.S. Senators and Representative your concerns about the bill’s proposed Small Business Surtax, increased penalties, or inflexible mandated Paid Family and Medical Leave Program.
