Unlike neighbors, Arizona doing all the right things to benefit from piggybacking on federal policy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chad Heinrich, Arizona State Director, 602-567-0276, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, 415-742-5971, [email protected]
PHOENIX, June 11, 2019—Key indicators in the latest Small Business Economic Trends report released today are back to their record, pre-government-shutdown highs, and combined with recent actions here in Arizona, portend a solid economy well into the foreseeable future.
“When I see New Mexico raising its personal income tax rate, Nevada raising its minimum wage, and California casting the fate of its independent contractors to the wind, I feel proud of the great work the Arizona Legislature, our governor, and our attorney general have done in establishing policies that will lure and foster small-business growth,” said Chad Heinrich, Arizona state director for NFIB. “By finally conforming our state tax code to the changes made in the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, simplifying our retail sales tax base, and establishing Arizona as the first state to welcome out-of-state occupational licenses as its own, Arizona is positioned to keep a strong economy going for a good while longer.”
The NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends data since 1986. Survey respondents are drawn from NFIB’s membership. The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small business, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions. Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available, used by the Federal Reserve, presidential administrations, Congress, and governors and state legislatures across the nation as the gold standard measurement on the economic health of Main Street enterprises. The report is released on the second Tuesday of each month. Today’s survey was conducted in May 2019.
Six components in the Small Business Optimism Index improved, three were unchanged, and one dipped. Capital spending plans increased along with actual outlays. Small business owners’ expectations for sales, business conditions, and expansion all rose, as the previously reported inventory imbalance was resolved. Earnings, job creation, and compensation remained very strong.
“Optimism among small business owners has surged back to historically high levels, thanks to strong hiring, investment, and sales,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan. “The small business half of the economy is leading the way, taking advantage of lower taxes and fewer regulations, and reinvesting in their businesses, their employees, and the economy as a whole.”
“Small business owners are demonstrating a continued confidence in the strength of the economy and are betting capital spending dollars on it,” said NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg. “This solid investment performance is supporting ongoing improvements in productivity and real wages.”
Keep up with the latest on Arizona small-business at www.nfib.com/arizona or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_AZ
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For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Arizona
24 W. Camelback Rd. #A252
Phoenix, AZ 85013
602-263-7690
NFIB.com/AZ
Twitter: @NFIB_AZ
