NFIB’s Idaho members register their opinions on health care, taxes, civil forfeiture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Budge, Idaho State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 20, 2017—Results from its annual poll of Idaho members released today by the National Federation of Independent Business want state lawmakers to make health-care affordability their top priority when they reconvene next month. Three other issues were also voted on.
Every year the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s largest and leading small-business association, polls its members on state and national issues vital to their ability to own, operate and grow their enterprises. Results from the polls center NFIB’s lobbying positions in Boise and in Washington, D.C. Results from the NFIB-member ballots are released after a statistically valid sample is reached. The 2018 Idaho state ballot asked four questions:
- Should Idaho allow health insurers to offer lower priced, less comprehensive options in the individual health insurance market with fewer requirements than the federal Affordable Care Act requires? YES—88 percent; NO—7 percent; UNDECIDED—5 percent.
- Should Idaho laws on Civil Asset Forfeiture be changed so that private property is seized only after a criminal conviction is secured? YES—75 percent; NO— 9 percent; UNDECIDED—16 percent.
- Do you favor legislation requiring employers in Idaho to give employees a guaranteed number of days of annual paid sick leave? YES—9 percent; NO—87 percent; UNDECIDED—4 percent.
- Should Idaho reduce the seven-bracket personal income tax system (with a top rate of 7.4 percent) and the flat corporate income tax rate of 7.4 percent to a flat rate of 5 percent for both personal and corporate income? YES—72 percent; NO—12 percent; UNDECIDED—16 percent.
“Small-business owners were left footing the bill for Obamacare, which is why it’s not a surprise that our members want the state Legislature to do what it can now that the stranglehold of the Affordable Care Act seems to be loosening,” said Suzanne Budge, NFIB’s Idaho state director. “As for paid leave, we have consistently pointed out that the vast majority of businesses already offer paid or unpaid time off, and for any reason the employee chooses: sickness, care for a family member, parental duties, personal or family member victim of domestic violence, etc. (infographic here). Also, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. It also requires that their group health benefits be maintained during the leave. Additional state mandates could do more harm than good.”
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Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2018, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Idaho
802 W. Bannock, Ste. 301
Boise, ID 83702
208-345-6632
www.nfib.com/idaho
Twitter: NFIB_ID
