As Record Number of Americans Open Small Businesses, Policies are Needed to Support Long-Term Success of our Nation’s Powerhouse Economic Engine
DALLAS, TX – In advance of next week’s State of the Union Address, Keith Hall, the president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, today outlined four top small business policy priorities where both Congress and the Administration can work together in a bipartisan way to support the record-breaking, surge of small business owners.
“Whether you are Republican, Democrat, or Independent –the one thing our elected leaders can all agree on in Washington is supporting our small businesses. These policies supporting America’s record-breaking small business community is an economic issue, not a partisan one,” said Keith Hall, president and CEO of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses. “As our community continues to break barriers and surge with more Americans stepping out on their own to become solo-entrepreneurs, gig-economy workers, and self-employed, small business owners, common sense policies will aide in the operation and growth of our nation’s small business ventures and helping to assist in their long-term success. Despite all the differences and disagreements in our nation’s capital, support for America’s small business community is one area where policymakers of all stripes can rally together to show their support for the lifeblood of America’s economic engine. An overwhelming number of Americans on all sides of the political debate support key policy priorities for small businesses that would ensure tax equity and simplification in the tax code, offer increased access to affordable health care, open new lines of capital, and invest in more creative retirement options for small business owners.”
- Ensuring Tax Equity & Simplifying the Tax Code: Working together to simplify the tax code by expanding the concept of standard deductions, which would free up valuable time and lead directly to new jobs, while ensuring the self-employed and solo-entrepreneurs are on the same level playing field as their corporate counterparts.
- Offering Increased Access to Affordable Health Care: Working together to assess how best to facilitate the purchase of health insurance for small businesses, which could include changes to the Affordable Care Act by making access to health care more affordable for small business owners, while identifying additional options to gain coverage, or to ensure continuity of coverage.
- Opening New Access to Capital: Working together by focusing on how to increase and open new lines of capital, making sure the process is easy to apply for and that small businesses receive the money in a timely manner to maintain business operations.
- Investing in Creative Retirement Options: Recognizing together that many small businesses don’t have the same retirement benefits and opportunities as large corporations, while exploring and implementing creative retirement options for small businesses so that all Americans can retire with dignity regardless of job, status, or employment structure.
The United States has seen a record-breaking pace of new small businesses recently announcing 16 million new small business applications over three consecutive years, continuing a surge in new small business applications reported by both the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Census Bureau. Last year, a Yelp report indicated every state was on track to beat the prior year’s all-time high.
“Bipartisan support for our community, even during times of intense political divisiveness, has brought policymakers together to find common ground in the past to pass important legislative accomplishments, such as an expansion of Health Savings Accounts for small business owners. The precedence established in previous Congresses can help guide our current elected leaders to work together to help fuel, strengthen, and ensure a robust small business community.
“As more Americans continue to turn to self-employment and small business ownership, it is imperative for our elected officials both support and promote pro-growth, pro-entrepreneurship, and anti-red tape policies. These policies don’t require major rewrites, rather small tweaks to existing policy that can surgically target small businesses while considering the unique attributes and challenges of our community,” concluded Hall.
NASE advocates and gives voice to America’s smallest employers, the self-employed and micro-businesses, before our elected leaders in Washington. In addition, NASE serves as a critical resource for new and existing small businesses in their operations. Specifically, NASE offers a robust Growth Grant program – sponsored by AARP, DELL Small Business, and Payanywhere – to Ask The Experts business and tax advice and the NASE Minute video with free business advice online to both members and the public. The association’s goal is to support the small business community to help them to grow and thrive.
To Speak with Keith Hall, Small Business Expert and Certified Public Accountant, please contact Kristofer Eisenla at kristofer@lunaeisenla.com
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The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading advocate and resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, offering a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy.
The NASE NextBizThing helps identify and connect our nation’s smallest businesses. Need small business help? Check out NASE’s Ask the Experts for advice or the NASE Minute for small business support.
The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's website at NASE.org