Thomas M. Sullivan, Chief Counsel for Advocacy, testifying today before the Committee on Small Business of the U.S. House of Representatives urged policy makers to simplify taxes for small businesses, limit the rollercoaster ride of tax code changes, and make permanent key small business benefits.
"We're pleased with the focus on small business in the President's Jobs and Growth package," said Sullivan. "Many of the provisions in the law received widespread support from small business and will have a significant positive impact on them," he said. Sullivan identified increased direct expensing, bonus depreciation, acceleration of individual income tax rate cuts, capital gains reductions, and dividend tax rate reductions as the most important items for small business.
Sullivan testified that there is still more to be done to level the playing field for small business. "Tax compliance is a serious and costly problem for small businesses," he said. He noted that the federal regulatory burden in 2001 "showed that tax compliance costs for firms with fewer than 20 employees was twice as much, per employee, as large firms with more than 500 employees." He continued, "Advocacy research shows that stable and predictable tax policies promote economic growth."
Sullivan offered specific recommendations to increase stability and confidence, including:
Making the increased direct expensing provisions in the President's Jobs and Growth Act permanent, and
Completely eliminating the death tax.
The Office of Advocacy examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues.