"As owner of a small business that just turned 5 years old and is a Subchapter S, we've grown from 3 employees to almost 50 in the last 5 years. The growth has kept our income low, as we've invested back into the company in the form of additional jobs and equipment. We have always had to tax plan at the year's end because we've never seen a penny of what the company has made, with the exception of what we've had to pull out for taxes on the income we've not seen. Bottom line, raising our taxes means we'll quit growing, lay off people and stay under the $250K level for income. We are not the problem."
Steve Piechota (San Jose, CA) Netronix Integration
7/9/2012
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"This additional tax, along with the Health Care Act would definitely suppress our growth. We would have to make sure that we continually upgrade our staff while keeping our active staff at a low number. Our margins are already stressed to the max and this would hurt our lower income employees. My guess is that we would have to start looking for ways to outsource some of our jobs in order to keep the company solvent. This is the worst time to put this kind of pressure on any small business. If the Government is trying to reduce hiring and to reduce the number of small businesses then they are on target. If they wish to grow employment and increase the tax base then they are way off target."
Steve Woodall (Houston, TX) Reliant Business Products
7/9/2012
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"My wife and I own a subchapter (S) business that develops and manufactures realistic artificial wounds and medical mannequins to train combat medics and emergency medical personnel. If we make a year-end profit, it gets taxed at the individual rate, yet we have never taken that profit for ourselves. We always use it for our cash flow needs--paying the 23 employees, buying the necessary raw materials, paying all of the overhead bills, and investing in new equipment. Thanks to the Bush tax cuts, we have been able to expense the equipment and company truck purchases instead of amortizing them. If Obama succeeds as he announced today, we will be "rich" and pay higher tax rates, and probably lose the other advantages of the Bush tax cuts as well."
Dave Parry (Willow Grove, PA) MPS Techline of PA, Inc.
7/9/2012
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"I understand what the President is trying to do - I really do, but he is not going about it the right way. Small business is the backbone of our country and allows us to keep American's working. Since any profit is a pass-through on a personal tax return - it very seldom actually goes into the hands of the business owner. It allows the business owner to grow the business and expand - employing more Americans and increasing wages of those already working hard. If we have to take our profits as we have in the past and hand them over in the form of taxation - it will force companies like mine to keep wages lower and hire less people - or lay off those working for us to compensate for the taxes. It is not in the best interest of our country."
Gloria Cuerbo-Caley (Canton, OH) Media Resources, Ltd
7/9/2012
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"This kind of taxation is what is hurting our small businesses today. We are forced by the Administration to jump hurdles that really should apply only to large businesses. We provide Health Care, Retirement Benefits and matching payroll funds to our employees like any other business does, but yet we are continually being over-taxed by the Government. Of course unemployment is running high, no one can afford to add employees at this time. We just work leaner with longer hours to get by and have less to show for it in the end. Wealthy - I don't think so."
Becky Hinkle (Kansas City, MO) Bears Printing, Inc.
7/9/2012 __________________________________________________________________________________________
"As an S Corp, we pay monthly taxes and then my business partner and I get hit hard with personal taxes at the end of the year. We did show a profit last year, but my business partner and I went without many paychecks during the year. We made about $15,000 less than the previous 10 years!!! And we still had to pay several thousand in taxes personally. If the taxes keep going higher, it won't be a profitable business anymore."
June Hawkins (Prescott Valley, AZ) Neumann High Country Doors
7/9/2012
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"We are quite small... 5 people. We occasionally use consultants off site to help us through design crunches. This past year we have been blessed with more work than we can handle, but the prospect of crossing thresholds and the expectation of restrictions and compliance mandates have absolutely resulted in a hiring freeze and our postponement of new business endeavors. We are in this strange place because succession is an important issue at the moment. Not being able to look more than a few quarters ahead makes it impossible to attract capable leaders to take over a key position."
Dennis Beaver (St. Louis, MO) Dynic Labs, Inc.
7/9/2012
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"Because of this proposed change, EM&A is forced to hold off on hiring new staff. We have routinely had to pay taxes on money that was never withdrawn from the company. This money has been held over from end of year to cover upcoming payroll, matching retirement contributions and other fringe benefits to employees. If President Obama's agenda is to put people back to work, then the goal shouldn't be to increase taxes for small businesses. Afterall, we employee a huge number of Americans."
Gina Coelho (Lusby, MD) Ecosystem Management & Associates, Inc.
7/9/2012
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"If the tax proposals President Obama is telling us he WILL make sure to go through, we will be selling our small business. It is hard enough running a small business but by adding on this excessive taxation we have decided we will sell our business by years end(after the election) if Obama should win. This means lost jobs and tax revenue. We are just one of many small business owners we have spoken to who feel the same way. This does not bode well for employment numbers or our governments tax revenue as will try to get out income under the $250,00.00. Many others we have spoken to have expressed these same sentiments as well. President Obama scares small business people like us.....right out of business."
Julie Cole (Jefferson, OH) Perfect Rubber Mulch
7/9/2012
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"We are organized as a pass-through income business (S-Corp) and even the current tax structures are overly penalizing much less the proposed Obama tax structures. The bottom line is that taxes paid on pass-through income could be used to actually hire more staff (sales and engineering) to effectively grow our business. In effect, the government's demanded portion of our net-income stifles that growth because it's simply not interesting to carry the burden and risk of owning/operating a business without the reward of increased income for the ownership. Small business tax reform should be considered with the allowance for non-taxed retained earnings for entities other than C-Corps."
Gary Vaughan (Herndon, VA) Clearpath Solutions Group
7/10/2012
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Recognizing the importance of entrepreneurs’ feedback in the process of shaping the very policies that will help determine their business sustainability and growth, Chairman Graves launched Small Biz Open Mic in September of 2011.
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