FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PROVIDENCE, RI (Jan. 14, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy association, issued the following statement by NFIB Rhode Island State Director Christopher Carlozzi in response to Governor Dan McKee’s 2025 State of the State Address this evening:

“In order to stay competitive, Rhode Island must refrain from raising taxes on small businesses. Despite projected budget deficits, the answer is never raising taxes on the state’s job creators, Main Street businesses. NFIB is pleased that Governor McKee announced that broad-based tax increases will be avoided, and now the House and Senate should follow suit or risk stymying economic growth. The Governor’s pledge on taxes is welcome news, and Rhode Island’s small business owners and their employees look to lawmakers to back him up on this common-sense policy. Small businesses are the engines that drive the economy, and they have struggled to survive in Rhode Island. The state’s tax and regulatory environments have direct impacts on small businesses’ bottom lines – when the cost of doing business goes up, prices go up, jobs and business growth are negatively impacted, and the state’s economy continues to lag. To make Rhode Island more affordable, the Governor must hold to his commitment on taxes.”

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For more than 80 years, NFIB has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.