WICHITA (Oct. 23, 2024) – In an op-ed for The Wichita Eagle, NFIB State Director Dan Murray urges Congress to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent, which is set to expire in 2025.

Warning against a massive tax hike on small business owners in Kansas, Murray writes:

“If Congress fails to act, this tax hike would wreak havoc on our Kansas’ small businesses. Losing the small business deduction could very well be the largest federal tax increase on small businesses in memory. […] That’s why Kansas small businesses are asking Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act. This bipartisan bill would make the small business deduction permanent – stopping the cycle of uncertainty and providing our Main Street employers with the predictability they need to grow their businesses.”

CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. Excerpts are below:

Tax breaks for big businesses, but not small ones?
The Wichita Eagle
By: Dan Murray
October 13, 2024

Inflation continues to take a serious toll on employers and families alike.

In a recent study by the National Federation of Independent Business, job creators ranked the cost of supplies and inventories as their second-most pressing problem — moving way up from its ranking as 12th in 2020.

There are many challenges to owning and operating a small business, but nothing exacerbates those challenges like inflation. […]

To add insult to injury, next year, our small business owners will be smacked with a massive federal tax hike with the expiration of the 20% Small Business Deduction.

If Congress fails to act, this tax hike would wreak havoc on our Kansas’ small businesses. Losing the small business deduction could very well be the largest federal tax increase on small businesses in memory.

When Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, it included a provision allowing small businesses to reduce their taxable business income by 20% —it’s called the small business deduction. […]

After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act went into effect, small business owners reported to NFIB that they put those tax savings to good use, like increasing employee pay, expanding their business operations, and hiring additional employees.

When we empower small businesses to do what they do best, the economy flourishes.

Jobs at risk

Kansas is no exception. In fact, making the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent would create 12,000 new jobs each year for the first 10 years, and 23,000 annually every year after, according to a recent analysis conducted by the accounting firm Ernst & Young and NFIB.

Allowing the small business deduction to expire will leave Main Street businesses behind and at a competitive disadvantage against their large corporate competitors. […]

In the past few years, as prices have increased, we’ve all had to adjust our household budgets and learn to live with less. But a tax increase of this magnitude would force small businesses to make drastic cutbacks. […]

Small businesses need stability to succeed. The past four years have been turbulent. With no guarantee this tax provision will be around after 2025, job creators are starting to make tough decisions now to prepare for a massive tax hike later. Failing to act puts millions of jobs and billions in economic growth at stake.

That’s why Kansas small businesses are asking Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act. […]

Our small, family-owned farms, ranches, and small businesses are the foundation of our economy. A federal tax hike is the last thing they need. Call your lawmaker in D.C. today and tell them it’s time to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act.