Steven Yeater of Wilton, Iowa - the co-owner of a products finishing business - wrote me a letter telling me that the tax credit is:
“(1) not well thought out or discussed, (2) ridiculously complicated for a small business owner to understand and implement, and (3) once again, Congress is over-selling/over-promising the benefits of the tax credit."
I ask unanimous consent to place this letter into the record.
This is just one example where the Democratic majority has failed small business.
This is one example where the Democratic majority has touted a so-called benefit for small business that did not live up to its hype.
And now, small business is faced with mounting tax increases and regulatory burdens.
What do I mean?
The new health care reform law included 20 tax increases.
13 of them fall on individuals and families and 7 of them hit businesses.
These tax increases will be devastating for small business. Moreover, these tax increases far outweigh the benefit of the so-called small business tax credit for health insurance that some businesses are lucky enough to receive.
And this is not the only tax increase small business will face.
When Congress returns after the August recess, we are going to debate the bipartisan tax relief that was enacted back in 2001 and 2003.
That tax relief is set to expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts.
Allowing the bipartisan tax relief to expire would result in the largest tax increase in our nation’s history.
My friends on the other side of the aisle have indicated that they would like to extend the bipartisan tax relief for the “middle class."
I want to emphasize that this means that my Democratic colleagues want to extend 80 percent of the bipartisan tax relief that they like to call the Bush tax cuts.
Actually, the only reason why they call it the Bush tax cuts is to vilify the tax relief. But, my friends seem to support 80 percent of the tax cuts they enjoy vilifying so often.
Which brings me to my final point. My friends on the other side of the aisle would extend some of the tax relief, but not all of it. My friends want to allow the top marginal tax rates - and a number of hidden taxes that affect these taxpayers - to expire.
Why? Because my friends say the country - our federal government - cannot afford to give tax cuts to the “rich."
But, it’s not the rich who are going to be burdened if the rates were allowed to expire.
It is small business that will suffer.
So in closing, I refer back to the statement of the distinguished senator from Louisiana which was, if Democrats are not for small business, I don’t know what we’re for.
The Democratic leadership is not for extending all of the bipartisan tax relief. So, I will leave it to others to decide whether or not my Democratic colleagues are for small business.
