Virginia's small businesses still need help
NFIB State Director Julia Hammond today thanked Governor Youngkin for signing a state budget that funds several key parts of the NFIB Virginia Small Business Recovery Plan but said small business owners are disappointed that several key issues weren’t included in the commonwealth’s spending plan for 2022-24.
“Governor Youngkin and legislators agreed on many issues that are important to Virginia’s small business, including full funding of the commonwealth’s unemployment insurance program, but we’re disappointed that so some key issues didn’t make the final cut, like the three-month suspension of the fuel tax,” Hammond said. “Virginia’s small businesses are struggling with a host of issues, from inflation to a lack of workers to the soaring fuel prices.
“So, while the final budget includes some important provisions that are going to keep taxes in check, Virginia’s small businesses still need help,” Hammond said.
Here’s a look at some of this year’s small business victories – and some of the issues NFIB members say still must be addressed:
Victories
• Continuing to exempt Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Rebuild Virginia, and other COVID-19-related loans from taxation. Extend the exemption from the taxable year 2020 to the taxable year 2021 as well as remove the cap of $100,000 in the deductibility of business expenses so all loan proceeds used for qualifying business expenses are deductible.
• Repealing changes made to Virginia’s Overtime Act which went beyond federal law such as not including all the exemptions and calculating overtime differently which has created confusion for employers on which to follow.
• Approving the sale of paid family leave insurance policies in Virginia so businesses or individuals may purchase financial security.
• Opposing efforts to institute a complicated and burdensome 12-week paid family medical leave benefit program.
• Opposing efforts to require a determined amount of paid sick days.
Unaddressed
• Fuel tax: the Governor called on legislators and NFIB supported his call to push legislators to suspend Virginia’s fuel tax for one year.
• Repealing the Virginia Clean Energy Act which mandates 100% carbon-free power in the Commonwealth by 2045 for Dominion Energy and 2050 for Appalachian Power.
• Allowing small businesses that continue to suffer clear economic losses due to COVID-19 to apply for a second Rebuild Virginia loan.
• Freezing the minimum wage at its most recent level of $11/per hour which begins January 1, 2022, and allow employers to include the total compensation such as health insurance benefits when calculating the hourly wage for an employee.
• Providing an Income Tax Holiday for Small Businesses. Jump start small business recovery with a one-time exemption of $250,000 in income from the state income tax.
