Small business owner Michael Ervin to Congress: Make the Small Business Deduction Permanent
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 18, 2024) – Today, The Washington Times published an op-ed from NFIB member and small business owner Michael Ervin, owner of Coal River Coffee Company in West Virginia. Ervin discusses the benefits of the 20% Small Business Deduction, and the impact its expiration would have on his small business.
Ervin writes:
“My small business is living proof that the tax deduction works wonders and is key to economic revitalization. Congress passed it in December 2017, and it gave my wife and me the confidence to start our own business. We’d been roasting coffee in our garage for a few years, but in 2018, we took the plunge and opened our own cafe in St. Albans. We wanted to be part of the comeback in our beloved hometown of 10,000 people.
“With the deduction, we can compete with big chains like Starbucks and Tim Hortons. They pay a corporate tax rate of just 21%. But without the deduction, small businesses like ours will pay about 45% in taxes — more than double what our big competitors pay. How can we possibly keep up when big business has such a big advantage? There’s a Tim Hortons just down the street. It will find it far easier to give raises and hire workers. But we’ll find it harder. Small businesses are the engine of the economy. We should be revved, not idled, much less thrown into reverse.
“We don’t want special treatment. We just don’t want to be disadvantaged. In other words, we want basic fairness. And we want it now. While lawmakers may think that the Small Business Deduction’s expiration in 2025 is a world away, for small businesses, it’s basically tomorrow. We have to make long-term plans and decisions today, and every day there’s uncertainty, we’re more likely to make unfortunate choices.”
On April 11, Ervin testified before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee in a hearing titled, “Expanding the Success of the 2017 Tax Relief to Help Hardworking Americans,” where he demonstrated the advantages of the 20% Small Business Deduction for Main Street businesses like his own.
NFIB recently released a “Top 10 Policy Priorities for 2024” which included making the Small Business Deduction permanent as its top priority. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act, which would ensure the permanency of this important tax deduction for small businesses, was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and in the U.S. House by Representatives Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX).
Read the full op-ed here: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/apr/17/main-street-needs-congress-to-make-small-business-/
