READ: NFIB member and Iowa small business owner Jerry Akers in the Des Moines Register

April 17, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

"While we are on a path to recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic, we still have a long way to go."

READ: NFIB member and Iowa small business owner Jerry Akers in the Des Moines Register

Recently, NFIB member and small business owner Jerry Akers published an Opinion column in the Des Moines Register: “While we are on a path to recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic, we still have a long way to go.” He’s urging Congress to pass legislation that would help small business, not ones that would do more harm. You can read the column HERE and below. Jerry owns Great Clips salons across the Midwest and is a great advocate for NFIB. You can read more about him and why being an small business advocate for NFIB is so important HERE. The COVID-19 pandemic battered small businesses in historic ways. Within the first six months of the COVID-19 outbreak, an estimated 21,834 businesses were temporarily closed, while 10,875 businesses were permanently closed. We had to permanently shut down four of our Great Clips salons. Our employees are part of our family, and while not an ideal circumstance, we had to furlough our staff. At a time of such crisis, we held daily check-in calls with our staff providing them constant updates of their potential return to work. To further ensure our commitment to our working family, we continued to provide health insurance to our staff despite our business doors shut down. While we are on a path to recovery from the devastating effects of the pandemic, we still have a long way to go. According to the latest survey from the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents more than 10,000 small business owners across Iowa, the optimism for the future remains well below the 49-year average. Inflation is the biggest issues, although hiring workers is another big concern. Our second-generation family business employs over 220 employees. We offer top wages and exceptional benefits in comparison to other small businesses in our area. We would like to hire an additional 70 employees, but finding people who want to work has been challenging to say the least. If Congress does no harm, small businesses in all sectors will surely accelerate the post-COVID economic recovery. However, there is no more significant and avoidable threat to small business job creators than proposing new mandates and tax increases that threaten the fragile small business economic recovery. For example, the Administration and Senator Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, continue to push for passage of the PRO Act, which is perhaps the most anti-small business bill ever introduced in Congress. A much better way to advance worker rights in an even-handed way. It is incredibly disheartening to small business owners that this legislation has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The PRO Act puts the very existence of franchise businesses in jeopardy. The PRO Act cobbles together more than 50 imbalanced amendments to the National Labor Relations Act which are designed to tip the scales against small businesses. The consequences of the PRO Act cannot be overstated. The impact could be catastrophic, not only affecting our businesses but also the communities we serve and the employees who depend on us for their livelihoods. Without a doubt, these seismic shifts in employment policy would hurt small businesses and provide fewer opportunities, particularly for women and People of Color. We need policy and regulatory changes that will drive wealth creation and new ownership opportunities for the most underserved communities, not hinder it. Also of concern are President Biden’s proposed budget, which calls for an estimated $4.7 trillion in new tax increases that will be especially harmful for small businesses. Some of the proposed tax increases would raise the top income tax rate back to 39.6 percent, increase the corporate tax rate to 28%, and create a new 5 percent tax on small business income. President Biden is arguing that these tax increases will only impact those at the very top but what is often forgotten is that many small businesses will be greatly impacted as they pay their business taxes via the individual personal income tax rates. Instead, Congress should focus on policies that create small business certainly, including the Save Local Business Act, which would provide certainty for franchise business, and extending the important small business tax cuts in the Tax Cuts Jobs Act, which would provide certainty for small business owners by making permanent the 20% Small Business Deduction. Both would help small businesses tap into their potential to be an economic power engine and further assist the workforce issue. Small businesses possess the unique ability to address the workforce challenges faced by our nation. It is vital that Congress considers policies that support and encourage the growth of small businesses while carefully assessing the potential implications of legislation like the PRO Act and President Biden’s proposed tax increases. By doing so, we can ensure the development of a strong, skilled, and diverse workforce that can drive our nation’s economy forward.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Iowa

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