NEWSRELEASE
For Release: September 17, 2008 Snowe Bill Will Simplify Home Office Deduction Advocacy Commends Introduction of the “Home Office Deduction
Simplification WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan has
commended Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for introducing the “Home Office
Deduction Simplification and Improvement Act of 2008” (S. 3371). The bill will
simplify the home office deduction by introducing a standard deduction for small
business owners. In a letter to Senator Snowe, ranking member on the Senate Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Committee, Sullivan said that he supported the measure and
commended the Senator’s introduction of the bill. “Your legislation, S. 3371,
recognizes the need for reform and addresses the issue legislatively,” he wrote. Members of the small business community frequently appeal to the Office of
Advocacy for relief from tax requirements that are disproportionately
burdensome. According to research from Advocacy, tax compliance is 67 percent
more burdensome for the smallest businesses compared to their larger
competitors. Tax complexity, combined with the fact that 53
percent of America’s small businesses are home-based, prompted Advocacy’s
support for S. 3371. Last year, as part of Advocacy’s Regulatory Review and Reform (r3)
initiative, the National Association for the Self Employed (NASE) and others
identified the home office deduction as a tax provision that is unduly complex.
Advocacy agreed with the NASE and named the deduction as a 2008 r3 Top 10 Rule
for Review and Reform. The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal
government, 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. For more information and a copy of the letter to Senator Snowe, visit the
Office of Advocacy website at ### The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an
independent voice for small business within the federal government. The
presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views,
concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House,
federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information,
visit
Contact: John McDowell, (202) 205-6941
SBA Number: 08-24 ADVO
Press Kit
and Improvement Act of 2008”