Small Business Tax Cut Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAVES of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, tax season reminds us that small businesses are disproportionately affected by tax compliance and high tax rates. The Small Business Administration reports that the average tax compliance cost per employee for small businesses is almost three times the cost of larger firms. And according to the NFIB, tax issues are the single most significant set of regulatory burdens for most small firms. The Small Business Tax Deduction Act is simple, fair, and gives small businesses access to badly needed capital to invest in their companies while providing a little more certainty to help them plan for the future.

As chairman of the Small Business Committee, I hear from small business owners every single week about their regulatory and tax burdens. Through our interactive Web page, ``Small Biz Open Mic,'' we have heard that tax policies may drive some small firms out of business.

On Tuesday, Wendy Koller, owner of Koller Moving and Storage in Fort Smith, Arkansas, said:

We are hesitant to hire new employees for fear of what new tax burdens await us with the expiration of the older tax law and the new health care laws coming. We are concerned that these new issues may be the ones that push us out of business.

Last Saturday, Debbie Peacock, owner of a fabricating distributor in Mesa, Arizona, wrote:

Any additional taxes will only stop any chance of a recovery, and the government needs to realize we need every penny to increase staff, which puts people back to work.

I can go on and on and on with examples like these.

Yesterday, our committee held a hearing on the flood of new taxes that are just around the corner, such as new taxes from the health care law and the massive tax increase that's going to occur if the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts expire. All of these measures could send the economy into a tailspin, costing thousands of jobs.

That's why the Small Business Tax Deduction Act is necessary and is going to provide that tax relief for America's most robust job creators.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would ask that my colleagues support this bill.

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