| Weekly Update from Sam |
Dear Friends,
This week, my colleague, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, put forward a roadmap to reform our convoluted tax system for small businesses. The average tax compliance cost per employee for small businesses is almost three times the per employee cost for the average large firm, so I know reform will be welcome news for small firms. The time and resources devoted to tax compliance are sapping resources from economic growth and job creation – reform is critical. Chairman Camp’s discussion draft is a great way to get started, and I appreciate this serious commitment to reform.
The Small Business Committee held several hearings last Congress on tax reform, and we will be receiving more feedback from small businesses this year. Tax issues are the single most significant set of regulatory burdens for most small companies, according to a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup survey, because of the pressure on small firms to comply with complex, costly federal and state tax systems. Also in this NFIB survey, 85 percent of small businesses agree that Congress should revise the tax code.
Let us know what you think at Small Biz Open Mic. How would tax reform benefit your company? This process will develop over the next year, so we want to get as much small business feedback as possible.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves
Chairman
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News from Washington
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On Tuesday, House Republicans unveiled a fiscal year 2014 budget that balances the budget in ten years, addresses the government’s unsustainable spending problem, and strengthens the nation’s fiscal standing. Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s budget will provide a better overall economic environment for small business growth, because it balances our nation’s budget, addresses the debt crisis, repeals President Obama’s health care law, and sets the stage for a comprehensive tax reform effort.
Small companies simply can’t operate and plan ahead under the cloud of last minute debt deals, credit downgrade threats, and skyrocketing deficits. The key difference between this budget and any proposal from the Senate is that it actually balances the budget, which the Senate has not attempted. It makes the tough decisions. Small businesses have to stay within a budget; so should Washington.
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Latest Committee Action
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| On Thursday, the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations held a hearing to examine the compliance of federal agencies with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and the efforts of the Office of Advocacy at SBA to hold agencies accountable. Signed into law in 1980, the RFA requires agencies to assess the economic impact of their regulations on small businesses, and, if significant, consider alternatives that are less burdensome. But agencies often use loopholes to avoid compliance. The federal government publishes between 3,000 and 4,000 new regulations every year, many of which impact small businesses that are disproportionately burdened by regulatory requirements in comparison to their larger counterparts.
Last Congress, the Committee passed the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2011 (H.R. 527). The bill would close loopholes used by agencies to avoid compliance with the RFA, require a better assessment of the effects that regulations will have on small businesses, force agencies to perform better periodic review of rules, and grant the Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration greater powers for enforcement of the RFA.
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| Stay Plugged In |
| Be sure to check out the House Small Business Committee on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for all the latest in Small Biz news and resources and to join the conversation. We value your input, so tell us about your small business on our interactive website Small Biz Open Mic.
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