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Small Business Committee Newsletter Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes
Friday, September 22, 2006 Printer Friendly Version
Small Business Committee Notes September 22, 2006 -- Issue 109-55 Phil Eskeland, Policy Director, House Committee on Small Business _____________________________ Update on Ex-Im Reauthorization On Thursday, September 21, the Senate Banking Committee approved by unanimous voice vote legislation (H.R. 5068), with an amendment, to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im) for five years. The Senate Banking Committee retained many of the key ideas initiated and championed by Small Business Committee Chairman Donald Manzullo (R-IL) to help increase exports from small businesses (see SBC Notes 109-52). These include (1) codifying the reestablishment of a Small Business Division at Ex-Im Bank, headed by a senior vice president who reports directly to Ex-Im’s Board of Directors; (2) creation of a Small Business Committee at the Bank to help staff internally develop new programs and initiatives aimed at getting more small businesses to export; (3) designating small business specialists in each of the Bank’s operating division who will have underwriting authority and whose performance evaluations will be judged by criteria established by the Senior Vice President for Small Business; and (4) enhancing Ex-Im’s delegated loan authority for medium-term transactions. Ex-Im’s reauthorization now awaits action before the full Senate. For more information, please contact Phil Eskeland, Policy Director. _______________________________ Watch-Out: More Small Business Tax Audits by IRS on Tap On Tuesday, September 19, Small Business/Self-Employed Division Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Kevin Brown said in remarks to the Southern Federal Tax Institute that the division plans to perform more audits in order to reduce the so-called “tax gap” (i.e., the different between what is owned each year in taxes and what people actually pay), which the IRS claims is about $300 billion. The IRS estimates that the self-employed population is responsible for about 75 percent of the tax gap. Mr. Brown said that the tax gap is made up of three components – non-filing, underreporting, and underpayment. He estimated that 80 percent of the gap is attributable to underreporting. But the IRS wants to target audits as carefully as possible. Mr. Brown said, "I don’t want to hassle a taxpayer for no reason. I don’t want a revenue agent spending time on something that’s going to be no change. We want to make sure we’re targeting our audits as carefully as possible." The “tax gap” and its implications for small business were the subject of two hearings before the Small Business Committee, most recently on April 5, 2006 (see SBC Notes 109-40). At that hearing, Chairman Manzullo stated that “while I understand the need to foster compliance among all taxpayers, we must ensure that the approaches used by the IRS do not create excessive burdens.” The Small Business Committee will closely monitor the IRS to insure that past abusive practices in the audit process, which led to the passage of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-206), do not re-emerge. For more information, please contact John Westmoreland, Chief Tax Counsel. _______________________________ Upcoming Events Wednesday, September 27 2:00PM – full committee hearing on “Advancing Security and Commerce at Our Nation’s Ports: The Goals are not Mutually Exclusive,” to focus on the proposed Maritime Transportation Worker Security Credential (Maritime TWIC) rule and its affect on small business. For further information, contact Chris Szymanski, Professional Staff. It is expected that the week of September 25th will be the last week the House and the Senate will be in session prior to the November 7th election. _________________________________ Past hearings/mark-ups/roundtables/meetings in 2006 February 1, 2006 – Joint Tax, Finance & Exports (TF&E) and Rural Enterprises, Agriculture & Technology (REA&T) Subcommittee hearing on “Transforming the Tax Code: An Examination of the President’s Tax Reform Panel Recommendations.” February 8, 2006 – Regulatory Reform & Oversight (RR&O) Subcommittee hearing on “The Internet Sales Tax: Headaches Ahead for Small Business?” March 2, 2006 – Workforce Empowerment & Government Programs (WE&GP) Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs.” March 8, 2006 – TF&E Subcommittee hearing on the “Oversight of the Small Business Administration’s Finance Programs.” March 15, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The Missouri River and its Spring Rise: Science or Science Fiction?” March 15, 2006 – hearing on the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget and Reauthorization Proposals of the SBA. March 16, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled, “The State of Small Business Security in a Cyber Economy.” March 30, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on the “Procurement Assistance Programs of the SBA.” April 5, 2006 – hearing on “IRS Latest Enforcement: Is the Bulls-Eye on Small Businesses?” April 6, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing entitled “Can Small Healthcare Groups Feasibly Adopt Electronic Medical Records Technology?” April 26, 2006 – hearing on “Cutting Our Trade Deficit: Can the U.S. Muster Its Diverse Trade Promotion Operations to Make an Impact?” April 27, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee hearing on “Healthcare and Small Business: Proposals that will Help Lower Costs and Cover the Uninsured.” May 3, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing on “The Future of Rural Telecommunications: Is Universal Service Reform Needed?” May 3, 2006 – hearing on “What is the Proper Balance between Investor Protection and Capital Formation for Smaller Public Companies?” May 10, 2006 – hearing on “Bridging the Equity Gap: Examining the Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2006.” May 23, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “Data Protection and the Consumer: Who Loses When Your Data Takes a Hike?” May 25, 2006 – REA&T Subcommittee hearing on “Unlocking Charitable Giving.” June 7, 2006 – hearing on “Contracting the Internet: Does ICANN Create a Barrier to Small Business? June 21, 2006 – Joint hearing with the Government Reform Committee on “Northern Lights and Procurement Plights: The Effect of the ANC Program on Federal Procurement and Alaska Native Corporations.” June 27, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “S Corporations: Their History and Challenges.” June 27, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee hearing on “Immigrant Employer Verification and Small Business.” June 28, 2006 – TF&E Subcommittee hearing on “The Effects of the High Cost of Natural Gas on Small Businesses and Future Energy Technologies.” July 13, 2006 – RR&O Subcommittee hearing on “An Update on Administration Action to Reduce Unnecessary Regulatory Burdens on America’s Small Manufacturers.” July 20, 2006 – Joint REA&T and TF&E Subcommittee hearing on “Does China Enact Barriers to Fair Trade?” July 25, 2006 – hearing on “Failure to Comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act: IRS Endangering Small Businesses Yet Again.” August 10, 2006 – WE&GP Subcommittee field hearing in Loveland, CO on “Health Care and Small Business – Real Options for Colorado Businesses.” _____________________________ Small Business Website Check out the Small Business Committee website at http://www.house.gov/smbiz. The site includes regular updates on small business committee news. The site features special projects, press releases, hearings and scheduling information. _______________________________ Phil Eskeland Deputy Chief of Staff & Policy Director House Committee on Small Business Phil.Eskeland@mail.house.gov (202) 225-5821 To contact any staff member listed in the above newsletter, please use the general number for the House Small Business Committee – (202) 225-5821. Please E-mail me if you want to be removed from the mailing list or if you know of others who might be interested in receiving this publication. Mission Statement of the House Committee on Small Business "We promote the success of America’s small businesses by leveling the global economic playing field and reducing domestic burdens that impede their growth. In this spirit, we work to ensure that every branch of the U.S. government understands the critical role America’s small businesses play – both at home and abroad – including the jobs they create and the spirit of entrepreneurship they embody.”
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