"Washington needs to protect the small-business economy and our employees."
FESTUS (July 18, 2024) – “Washington needs to protect the small-business economy and our employees,” writes NFIB Small Business Owner Member Rodney Wideman in an op-ed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “All they need to do is make the small-business deduction permanent. It’s the single most important part of the 2017 tax cut law.”
In the op-ed, Wideman highlights how the 20% Small Business Deduction allowed him to hire more workers, boost his employees’ benefits, and invest in new equipment.
CLICK HERE to read the full op-ed. Excerpts are below:
I’m a Missouri small-business owner. This tax cut is crucial.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Rodney Wideman
July 12, 2024
Here’s a crisis you haven’t heard about. Next year, America’s small businesses are going to suffer. That includes my pool installation business here in Missouri. We face one of the biggest tax hikes in American history. It will hurt my eight workers and my entire community.
Washington needs to protect the small-business economy and our employees. […]
All they need to do is make the small-business deduction permanent. It’s the single most important part of the 2017 tax cut law. […] It put small businesses on the closest thing we’ve ever had to a level playing field, letting us save 20% on our taxes annually. […]
The moment the small-business deduction went into effect, I was able to grow my business like never before. I started hiring more workers. I started covering 100% of their healthcare costs and offering a Health Savings Account. I was even able to establish a matching 401k plan.
I even had money left over to invest in new equipment, staying competitive both locally and regionally. I’ve been able to buy a new box truck, a new crane truck, and two new service trucks, along with a boatload of new tools. […]
We even provided more charity work. Last year, I joined with some other companies to install two pools at local churches. […]
But now it’s an open question: Will my tax cut disappear come 2025? […]
The worst thing that could happen is if Washington lets the small-business deduction die. The moment that happens, I’m going to face some painful choices. […]
None of that’s good for me and my team. But our politicians may leave me with no choice.
They should make a better choice first. All our leaders need to do is make the small-business deduction permanent. […]
They don’t even have to touch the other parts of the tax cut law. They can deal with those later, while saving small businesses now, on a bipartisan basis.
The sooner Washington acts, the sooner Main Street will be saved from the coming crisis.
Wideman owns Wideman Pools in Festus. He’s a member of the National Federation of Independent Business.
Background:
The 20% Small Business Deduction (Section 199A) allows small businesses organized as pass-throughs (S corporations, LLCs, sole proprietorships, or partnerships) the ability to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income and is scheduled to expire in 2025. The Small Business Deduction was created in the 2017 tax law to bring small businesses’ tax rates closer to that of their large, corporate competitors.
In a recent NFIB member ballot, 91% of NFIB members said they supported permanently extending the expiring provisions of the 2017 tax law. According to NFIB’s 2021 tax survey, nearly half of small business owners (48%) reported the uncertainty of expiring tax provisions is impacting their current or future business plans.
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