NFIB Tells Committee that Taxes are now the Top Concern for Small Business Owners

Date: April 15, 2015

For
Immediate Release
Jack
Mozloom, 202-406-4450 or 609-462-5610
Follow
@NFIB on Twitter
Follow
@ JackMozNFIB on Twitter

NFIB Tells Committee that Taxes are now the Top Concern for Small
Business Owners
National Federation of Independent
Business (NFIB) research says tax issues are dampening small business optimism

Washington, DC (April 15, 2015) – The top researcher for the country’s leading small
business organization told members of Congress today that more small business
owners are worried about taxes than sales, a change in the data that should
concern policymakers in Washington.

From mid-2008 through mid-2012, ‘poor
sales’ was their number one problem as consumer spending declined sharply,”
said NFIB Research Director Holly Wade.  “But now ‘taxes’ is often the number one
concern for small-business owners, a problem that moderates the economic
recovery in the small-business sector.”

Wade
testified today before the Joint Economic Committee.  She told members that according to NFIB’s
monthly national survey, small business owners are highly concerned by high tax
rates, complexity in the tax code and frequent changes that make it hard for
them to keep up.

“Five
of the top 10 problems are all tax-related,” said Wade.  “They’re concerned about the amount of taxes
they have to pay; the cost of hiring tax professionals; and the time it takes
them to comply with the law.”

Three
quarters of small businesses pay taxes as individuals.  According to the IRS the average small
business now devotes a full 24 hours to preparing their returns.  The cost could reach into the hundreds of
dollars and in some cases much more.

“That’s
a lot of time and resources that they’d rather spend running their businesses,”
said Wade.  “The money they must pay in
taxes is money that they would invest otherwise.  They view the growing cost of compliance as
an unnecessary expense.  And the time it
takes to comply with the tax code is a drag on their productivity.”

NFIB
members want lower, flatter tax rates and a simpler tax code. 

“It’s
encouraging that members of Congress are focused on taxes but it’s important
that hearings like this produce real policy changes that allow small businesses
to keep and invest more of the money they earn,” said Wade.

For more information about NFIB please visit www.nfib.com.

#####

Subscribe For Free News And Tips

Enter your email to get FREE small business insights. Learn more

Get to know NFIB

NFIB is a member-driven organization advocating on behalf of small and independent businesses nationwide.

Learn More

Or call us today
1-800-634-2669

© 2001 - 2024 National Federation of Independent Business. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Conditions | Privacy