By Congressman Steve Austria
If we want to get serious about our nation’s unemployment crisis, we must provide certainty in the marketplace and look at how to help our job creators, and small business owners. One economic booster to get people back to work is through small business growth as these small businesses and farms help create about seven of every ten new jobs in America. To jump start our economy and get Americans back to work, Washington must also do its job by stopping all the wasteful borrowing and out-of-control spending; reducing taxes; removing the Washington red tape and the burdensome regulations; put an energy policy in place that has less reliance on overseas foreign oil; and finally addressing the government health care reform issue by focusing on lowering the cost of healthcare for hard-working families and small businesses.
A 2010 study by the Small Business Administration found that small businesses were disproportionately affected by federal regulations with an annual regulatory cost per employee that is 36 percent higher than the costs facing large firms. Additionally, whether a small business pays taxes at the corporate or individual level, it can face up to a 35 percent federal tax rate. Recently, I supported legislation that Congress passed, which will enable small businesses with fewer than 500 employees to use extra capital to invest, grow, and create more jobs through a 20 percent tax deduction.
During a time when job growth has stunted we cannot allow for the federal government to raise taxes on our job creators and impose unnecessary regulations – all which stifles job growth. It is our small businesses that are the backbone of our economy.