FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ronda Wiggers, Montana State Director, rondakwiggers@gmail.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

HELENA, Mont., Feb. 4, 2021—The state director for the association that released the 15th COVID-19 survey of its small-business owning membership, today, said that one result presented a very good reason for Montana legislators to pass Gov. Greg Gianforte’s ‘Montana Comeback Plan.”

“We have been polling our members since last March on how they’re coping with the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to getting PPP loans to liability protection to masks to vaccines, and it hasn’t been happy reading,” said Ronda Wiggers, Montana state director for NFIB, which has conducted the polls. “Our latest poll, however, offers a glimmer of hope that things could turn around, and if states can do their part, it would accelerate economic recovery.”

That glimmer of hope, according to Wiggers was the drop from 25% two months ago to 15% today in the number of small-business owners who said they couldn’t operate their enterprises any longer than six months if current economic conditions didn’t change.

Explaining the welcome drop in the percentage of small-business owners who said they could not last longer than six months, Holly Wade, executive director of NFIB’s Research Center, said, “The reopening of the Paycheck Protection Program is likely a main factor in the decrease of those anticipating having to close their doors soon but still, the economic recovery remains uneven for small businesses. Fortunately, more businesses are reporting stronger sales and those still negatively impacted by state and local restrictions are receiving additional financial help.”

Gov. Greg Gianforte’s “Montana Comeback Plan,” calling for lowering the personal income tax rate, doubling the amount of the exemption to business equipment tax, changing the way we tax corporations in Montana, and removing the sale of employee-owned stock from capital gains tax would be the perfect message to send small businesses, according to Wiggers. “It would tell small-business owners that the state can help in real ways. Our Legislature should act as fast as it can to save Main Street businesses.”

All prior COVID-19 polls conducted by NFIB can be found here. Scroll down to the research tab after clicking the link.

Keep up with the latest on Montana small business at www.nfib.com/MT.

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For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

National Federation of Independent Business/Montana
491 South Park Ave.
Helena, MT 59601
406-443-3797
www.nfib.com/montana
Twitter: @NFIB_MT