D
didymus
Guest
Slate:
Which is not to say that Democrats haven’t been trying to win them over. Last week, President Obama stopped by a small Rhode Island manufacturer, American Cord & Webbing Co., to applaud the country’s small businesses and to tout the administration’s policies to aid them. The president stressed that the administration and Congress support small businesses, which createdabout two of every three new jobs over the past decade. (They’ve also lost about as many, though politicians generally omit that part.) He pointed to the 16 tax breaks Democrats passed for small businesses in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and the Small Business Jobs Act, which Democrats passed over a Republican filibuster in September. In just six weeks, Obama said, that jobs act has helped 3,600 small businesses get $1.4 billion in loans.
So how did the Obama administration lose small business? In part because, while it lowered taxes on virtually all companies with small workforces, relatively few of their owners know that. At the same time, it increased the regulatory burden—something that drives small-business owners crazy—in a small but hugely noticeable way.
The issue is the 1099 provision of the health care law the president signed last spring. The portion of the law was designed to improve compliance with the tax code. But it means a whole lot more paperwork—paperwork that is particularly onerous for small companies with lower margins and higher overhead costs to begin with.
Before the health care bill came into existence, businesses needed to send 1099 forms to the non-incorporated businesses that provide them with more than $600 in services* *per year. Now, businesses need to file 1099s to any business that provides them more than $600 in goods or services per year. A nearby restaurant where you have six $100 business lunches per year? You need to get their tax identification number and then fill out a 1099. Purchase $600 in office chairs? 1099.
This is the argument I always have with people, that gov’t (I’m usually talking about our “friends” in Albany) would do better to repeal some petty regulations, taxes, licenses, &c rather than “help”. But, of course, legislators & Congresscritters can’t get on TV for that.
Even if Democrats beat expectations at the polls today, they will do so without the support of one of those quintessentially American constituencies: small-business owners. As a bloc, these owners vote—about 93 percent plan to head to the polls today, compared with about 41 percent of eligible voters overall—and they tend to support Republicans.
Which is not to say that Democrats haven’t been trying to win them over. Last week, President Obama stopped by a small Rhode Island manufacturer, American Cord & Webbing Co., to applaud the country’s small businesses and to tout the administration’s policies to aid them. The president stressed that the administration and Congress support small businesses, which createdabout two of every three new jobs over the past decade. (They’ve also lost about as many, though politicians generally omit that part.) He pointed to the 16 tax breaks Democrats passed for small businesses in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and the Small Business Jobs Act, which Democrats passed over a Republican filibuster in September. In just six weeks, Obama said, that jobs act has helped 3,600 small businesses get $1.4 billion in loans.
So how did the Obama administration lose small business? In part because, while it lowered taxes on virtually all companies with small workforces, relatively few of their owners know that. At the same time, it increased the regulatory burden—something that drives small-business owners crazy—in a small but hugely noticeable way.
The issue is the 1099 provision of the health care law the president signed last spring. The portion of the law was designed to improve compliance with the tax code. But it means a whole lot more paperwork—paperwork that is particularly onerous for small companies with lower margins and higher overhead costs to begin with.
Before the health care bill came into existence, businesses needed to send 1099 forms to the non-incorporated businesses that provide them with more than $600 in services* *per year. Now, businesses need to file 1099s to any business that provides them more than $600 in goods or services per year. A nearby restaurant where you have six $100 business lunches per year? You need to get their tax identification number and then fill out a 1099. Purchase $600 in office chairs? 1099.
This is the argument I always have with people, that gov’t (I’m usually talking about our “friends” in Albany) would do better to repeal some petty regulations, taxes, licenses, &c rather than “help”. But, of course, legislators & Congresscritters can’t get on TV for that.