Tax Reform
Floor Speech
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Mr. RISCH. Mr. President, as you may know, small businesses are thriving in one of the best economic climates that we have seen in several years. The National Federation of Independent Business's Small Business Optimism Index for August saw its highest reading ever over its 45-year history and the MetLife and Chamber of Commerce's most recent quarterly Small Business Index found that a substantial majority of small business owners have a positive outlook of their business and of the overall economy.
I believe that this uptick in small business confidence is due in large part to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that passed the Senate and was signed into law last year. Over the 9 months since its passage, our country has witnessed the positive impact that the law has had on our economy. Companies of all sizes have directly benefited from various provisions of the law and as a result are paying out bonuses, raising wages, and purchasing new equipment for their businesses. As chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I was a strong supporter of the tax law because I believed it would allow small business owners to keep more of their hard-earned money, make more investments in their businesses, and increase the overall health of our economy. Over the last few months, I have been making this series of speeches to draw attention to the benefits this law provides for small businesses.
Since passage of the law, many observers have given too much attention to individuals and corporations that have benefited from certain provisions of the law, but not nearly enough attention has been given to the benefits that small businesses have received. I rise today to spotlight how tax reform is benefiting Sko-Die, Inc., a small business located just outside of Chicago in Morton Grove, IL. Sko-Die, Inc., provides their customers with high-quality steel laminations, heavy gauge metal stampings, and machining services. From design to production, the company provides original equipment manufacturing services for a variety of sectors including the food, power generation, medical, and aerospace industries. Sko-Die is a family-run business started in 1947 by the Steininger family. The current president, Patrick Steininger, has led the company since 2002 and is the third generation of the family to helm the company. Sko-Die has about 70 employees, boasts a 60,000-thousand-square foot production facility, and operates numerous punch presses ranging in size from 5 to 300 tons.
Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, this family-owned custom metal stamping business has been able to pass on some its tax savings to employees, raising the average wages of its employees by about 3 percent. Sko-Die also made a $1 million investment in new equipment, which included a new die grinder and a new metal press. Before the implementation of the new tax law, small businesses had to deal with a complex expensing formula that took many years to take advantage of, which made equipment purchases much less attractive to small business owners. The accelerated depreciation of equipment purchases for small businesses is one of the many reasons that I was a strong supporter of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Overall, the new tax law has been good for small businesses; has allowed many small businesses to increase their capital investments, hire additional workers, and increase wages; and will lower small businesses' annual tax payments. I am happy to see that small businesses like Sko-Die, Inc., are able to reduce their tax burden by making use of this accelerated depreciation provision and are using those tax savings to raise its employees' wages. I look forward to watching the company's continued success.
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