NFIB issues list on what Congress, White House can do to help small businesses fight inflation
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 22, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released a list of ways Congress and the White House can ease cost pressures for small businesses. Small business owners continue to cite inflation as their top small business problem.
“Congress and the administration helped get small businesses into this mess with excessive spending, now they can help get them out of it,” said Jeff Brabant, NFIB Vice President of Federal Government Relations. “Inflation has overwhelmed small business owners in an already uncertain economy, and they need relief. By lessening regulatory burdens, providing tax relief, and more, Washington can prioritize the small business economy. NFIB has highlighted five crucial steps that Congress and the administration can do immediately to lessen the financial burdens on small businesses.”
“Our small business needs help to continue to grow and thrive,” said Stephanie Camarillo, Owner of Molly Maid in Boise, Idaho. “Inflation has touched every inch of our business, and we would welcome any relief to ease the regulatory and financial difficulties we continue to face daily. Making the Small Business Deduction permanent in particular would give us the assurance we need to make long-term business decisions.”
Stop Issuing Costly Regulations
The Biden Administration has imposed almost $1.5 trillion in new regulatory costs, adding over 275 million new paperwork hours for small business owners. We ask the White House to pull back burdensome regulations like the DOL’s overtime and independent contractor rules, OSHA’s walkaround rule, the EPA’s tailpipe emissions rules, and the DOE’s appliance energy efficiency rules.
Provide Long-Term Price Stability and Stop a Massive Tax Hike by Making the Small Business Deduction Permanent
Over 30 million small businesses will experience a massive tax increase at the end of 2025. We ask Congress to make the Small Business Deduction permanent by passing the Main Street Tax Certainty Act.
Inject Competition into the Anti-Competitive Swipe Fee Marketplace
Anti-competitive practices within the credit card network ecosystem have allowed swipe fees to grow at an unsustainable rate that is harming small businesses. We ask Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act and inject competition into the marketplace.
Reduce the Cost of Energy
Federal policies restricting the production of domestic energy increase the energy costs for small businesses, forcing small businesses to absorb those costs by passing them on to their customers in the form of higher prices. Congress should pass H.R. 1 and S. 4072 to prevent the EPA from increasing costs for small businesses.
Curb Health Care Cost Increases
High health care costs disproportionately impact small businesses and eliminating those burdens is crucial for small businesses as they work to hire and invest in employee benefits. We ask Congress to pass the CHOICE Arrangement Act, the Lower Costs More Transparency Act, and the Employer Reporting Improvement Act to lower health care costs for small businesses.
View the full list here.