Daines Calls for Permanent Tax Break for Small Businesses

• September 25, 2024

U.S. Senator Steve Daines today was joined by The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) President Brad Close for a press conference on the importance of stopping the massive tax hike on small businesses. They, along with small business owners called for passage of Daines' "Main Street Tax Certainty Act," which makes the 20 percent tax deduction for small businesses permanent.

Download Daines' remarks HERE.

"Well, thanks for coming out today. I'm just honored and thrilled to be standing here with so many small business owners from across America.

"I grew up as the son of a contractor. Mom and dad had a small home-building business in Montana. In fact, they've been NFIB members for many, many years. So, I saw what it takes to grow a business, to hire, to meet payroll each week, and I have a great appreciation for these business leaders behind me, which in many, many ways, is the fundamental engine that drives this economy in America.

"I am a champion for the 'Main Street Tax Certainty Act.' This is something we must pass, because if we do not do this next year, many of the businesses, the small businesses across America, will face about a 30 percent increase in their taxes.

"Now, high tax rates are a barrier for businesses to expand, to hire more employees and to grow their businesses. We need to make this provision in the tax code permanent.

"One of the problems in Washington, D.C., is introducing uncertainty based on expiring tax provisions, and that creates a lot of problems for businesses across America. They don't know what D.C. is going to do.

"This is why it's important that we make these tax provisions permanent so these small business owners behind me aren't having to worry more about what's going on in D.C. They have enough to worry about as it is. Let's not add Congress to their worry list.

"Remember that if we don't make these provisions permanent, if we allow these important provisions to expire in 2025, according to Richard Rubin, who writes tax policy for the Wall Street Journal, it's a $4 trillion increase in taxes.

"And by the way, Rubin also pointed out in his column that if the Democrats get control of the Senate and the House and the Presidency, there's another $2 trillion on top of these $4 trillion so the total bar tab here would be $6 trillion of tax increases facing the American people if the Democrats control Congress after the 2024 election.

"What's important to remember, in my home state of Montana, my hometown of Bozeman, if you look at the state of Montana, 74 percent of the jobs, the employment in my state, are from small businesses. They call them these passive entities. If you look nationally, it's 62 percent of the jobs, the private sector jobs in America, are supported by these small businesses.

"So really, the engine driving this economy, the engine driving employment, is small businesses, and it's exactly what we're talking about here today.

"So, if these provisions expire, you're going to see a big tax increase, you're going to see a reduction in economic growth, and in many cases, you're going to see businesses have to face a very difficult challenge, maybe to let employees go, because they've got to pay the tax bill to the IRS.

"So, we cannot wait. We need to make these tax provisions permanent. And I'm grateful to stand with these business owners in this fight on Capitol Hill."

Background:

The 20 percent small business deduction, section 199A, was created as a part of the 2017 tax cuts to level the playing field between small businesses and large corporations. Without Congressional action, 9 out of 10 small businesses will be hit with a massive tax hike when this deduction is set to expire at the end of 2025.

Daines reintroduced the "Main Street Tax Certainty Act" last year. Recently, a new study from Ernst and Young (EY) highlighted the economic activity supported by this small and family-owned business tax deduction, including 2.6 million jobs and $325 billion of the GDP.