“It’s Time to Give America’s Small Business Owners Tax Breaks, Not Tax Burdens”

Washington, D.C.– Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, joined Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and other House GOP leaders at a press conference today to unveil the Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2012.  This legislation, which is an extension of the recently released JOBS Act, will boost economic growth by allowing small businesses to deduct 20 percent of their income from taxes.  This tax cut will benefit nearly 22 million small businesses.

According to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses represent 99.9 percent of the 27.5 million businesses in America and employ nearly half of all private sector employees.  Additionally, small businesses with fewer than 500 employees generate nearly 65 percent of new jobs in this country.  Despite their contributions to the domestic economy, they are currently burdened by government intervention and over-regulation.  The Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2012 will enable small businesses to hire new employees and create jobs.

Rep. McMorris Rodgers’s prepared remarks at today’s press conference are below.

“When I was home in Eastern Washington last week, I had the opportunity to visit a pretty incredible local small business, Maid Naturally. It is owned and operated by two moms who had a business plan and executed it. And when I met with them, they told me that high taxes and government regulations are hindering their ability to expand.  Just like these two business owners in Spokane, Washington, there are men and women all across America who face the same impediments when it comes to growing their businesses.

“As someone who worked on my family-run small business for 13 years, I can say with certainty that they’re right. I’d like to shed some light on these women – the entrepreneurial women whose businesses are hurting because of this Administration’s regulatory burdens.  It’s an important story because 2 out of every 3 new businesses are started by women – that’s 400 new businesses per day.  In fact, women-owned businesses are the fastest-growing segment in the U.S. economy.  And every dollar they save in taxes is one more dollar they can spend hiring a new employee. 

“The current path is both unacceptable and unsustainable for all of America’s small business owners.  It’s time to change course.  It’s time to give America’s small business owners tax breaks, not tax burdens.  It’s time to give them relief, not rhetoric. And it’s time to give them the flexibility and freedom they need to create jobs.  Now it’s time to move forward with legislation that will do just that.”

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