WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Small Business is holding a full committee hearing titled “Paying Their Fair Share: How Tax Hikes Crush the Competitiveness of Small Businesses.”

Chairman Roger Williams’ opening statement as prepared for delivery:

Good afternoon and welcome to today’s hearing where we will be examining the tax landscape for small businesses.

First, I want to thank our witnesses for joining us today. Your time here is greatly appreciated.

This hearing could not come at a more important time for Main Street America. Our nation’s small businesses are facing unprecedented levels of inflation, interest rates that are being raised at the fastest pace since the 1980’s, a labor shortage that has windows plastered with help wanted signs across the country, and now, an increasingly uncertain credit environment.

As small businesses deal with these economic headwinds, it is imperative that our tax code works for our nation’s job creators, not against them. When businesses can keep more of their hard-earned money, they hire more people and invest more into their operations.

In 2017, Republicans passed the most significant changes to the tax code in decades. This legislation allowed small businesses to save on tax bills and benefited families of all income brackets. Today, we will hear firsthand accounts of the many success stories from this major update to our nation’s tax code for small businesses in a variety of industries.

As this law ages, some of the provisions are beginning to expire or have their benefits reduced. It is imperative that we begin looking at this law and find the provisions that helped Main Street the most, such as lowering individual income tax rates that helped 70% of all small businesses that are organized as pass-through entities. There are many more successful provisions such as this one that I hope we explore in greater depth here today.

This hearing will also highlight the stark tax policy differences between the two major parties in Washington. My Democrat colleagues repeatedly use the phrase, “make them pay their fair share”, when talking about the tax code. This simplified talking point dumbs down the intricacies of some of the most consequential policies that come out of Washington and ignores many of the unintended costs of any tax increase that Congress makes.

This difference can be seen by anyone willing to dig through President Biden’s proposed budget. According to the Tax Foundation, if all the changes were made, there would trillions in new taxes, GDP would shrink by over 1%, and in the long-term, there would be fewer jobs for all Americans.

One of the most harmful proposals is an additional 5% surtax on small businesses that the White House claims is closing a tax loophole. This could not be farther from the truth and would be devastating for many small businesses. I am going to submit this letter from the NFIB for the record that has almost 12,000 signatures from small businesses that calls the administration out for this disastrous policy proposal.

Additionally, included in the Democrats misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, there was an additional $80 billion in new funding to the I-R-S. With these new funds, the agency is poised to more aggressively audit America’s small businesses. Today I hope we can dig deeper into what it means for small businesses when we have an I-R-S working overtime to target American job creators.

Here on the Committee on Small Business, I promise we will be working to create an environment where businesses can thrive and grow. We are eager to find solutions that will help pave a path toward success for both now and the future, and that starts by enacting pro-growth policies.

I want to thank you all again for being here with us today and I am looking forward to today’s conversation.

With that I will yield to our distinguished Ranking Member from New York, Ms. Velázquez.

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