With the summer months upon us and the Labor Day holiday approaching, now is a good time to remind members of some of the victories NFIB was able to achieve for small business and the challenges ahead.

Congress and the Idaho State Legislature

— NFIB has won its long fight to make the 20% Small Business Deduction a permanent feature of the U.S. tax code, when President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4.

“President Trump and Congress have the gratitude of 33 million American small business owners, who are all breathing a huge sigh of relief,” said NFIB President Brad Close in a news release sent right after the signing. “This bill provides them the certainty and level playing field needed to grow, hire new workers, provide for their employees, and give back to their communities. I’m proud of the way small business owners across the country engaged in this debate and helped deliver this historic victory. With the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Trump and lawmakers have strengthened the foundation of our economy and provided a boost not just for small businesses, but a boost for the entire country.” More information here.

— NFIB’s next big congressional goal is repealing the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) requirement and registry. While U.S. small business owners don’t currently have to comply with BOI reporting requirements, small business owners are urging Congress to repeal the law and for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to destroy all beneficial ownership information data already submitted by U.S. small businesses. More information here.

Idaho State Legislature

— This year, NFIB helped win:

$253 million in income tax relief

$100 million in property tax relief

$50 million in grocery tax relief

— Check out more victories for small business in this web story, End-of-2025-Session Report on the Idaho Legislature.

Small Business Research Tools

— What are small businesses’ issues? NFIB’s Small Business Problems & Priorities report, published every four years, ranks 75 of them in order of most important to less important.

Highlight: The cost of health care has been the No. 1 worry of small business owners in the last 10 consecutive Small Business Problems & Priorities reports (39 years). The only time it wasn’t was in the very first Problems & Priorities report, issued in 1982, when interest rates came in first. Interestingly, interest rates had the highest jump in rankings in the latest report, moving 43 positions from its 2020 ranking of 53rd to 13th in the 2024 report.

— Are there issues NFIB doesn’t take a state or federal lobbying position on? Yes. Here’s why.

— The monthly Jobs Report from NFIB gauging job openings and hiring and compensation plans. You can read the monthly reports on the NFIB website in the News or Jobs Report links under the ‘Stay Informed’ section. Pull down ‘Idaho’ in the ‘State’ section in the upper-right corner for local comment.

— The monthly Small Business Optimism Index survey measuring 10 components including hiring, capital expenditures, credit conditions, and inventory. You can read the monthly reports on the NFIB website in the News or Jobs Report links under the ‘Stay Informed’ section. Pull down ‘Idaho’ in the ‘State’ section in the upper-right corner for local comment.

— Both the Jobs Report and Optimism Index are national snapshots not broken down by state.

Recent Special Surveys

— 2025 NFIB Small Business And Technology. Includes information on use of websites and artificial intelligence.

Excerpt: “Of those who have not introduced new, or significantly improved, technologies, a quarter reported it is because nothing on the market would meaningful improve their business. Twenty percent reported they haven’t because the cost of the new or improved technology is too expensive. Nineteen percent reported they haven’t because they upgraded or bought new technology three to five years ago, and it’s still working. Fifteen percent reported they don’t think it is important or necessary for their business, 7% reported the new technology is too complicated to adopt in their business, and only 5% reported it is because financing new or improved technology is too expensive.”

— 2024 Small Businesses’ Contribution to the Community describes the importance and quantifies three types contributions: volunteering time, financial support, and in-kind contributions.

Excerpt: “Financial support was the most common method small businesses used to support their community … Ninety percent of small business owners have financially supported community or civil groups, charities, youth sport programs, schools, religious organizations or similar activities in the last 12 months.”

— 2024 NFIB Tax Survey measures the importance of making the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent, legal structure of a small business, and tax filings.

Excerpt: “Small business owners continue to struggle with tax complexity and paperwork requirements. The vast majority (90 percent) used a tax professional, and most of them (88 percent) do so because of the complex nature of the U.S. tax code.”

— More surveys on more subjects can be found here.

The Power of the Small Business Voice

— In Gallup’s latest, annual U.S. Confidence in Institutions report, small business came in 1st among the 17 institutions measured, with 68% of Americans having a ‘Great deal’ or ‘Quite a lot’ of confidence in Main Street business owners. Organized Labor came in 9th with a combined 28% and Big Business 15th with 16%.

— Likewise, in a 2024 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 86% of Americans ranked small business first in having a positive effect on the way things are going in the country. Labor unions came in fourth with 55% and large corporations last with 29%.

— Those two facts, along with others, can be found on this one-page document, The Power of the Small Business Voice.

For more information, send an email to NFIB Idaho State Director Suzanne Budge, sbs@sbsidaho.com, or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org.