Harrisburg, PA – President Obama’s call today for a “balanced” approach to reducing the country’s enormous debt is code language, according to Pennsylvania small businesses, for raising taxes on the people who create most of the jobs in America.
Earlier this year the President abandoned his plan to raise income taxes on people earning more than $250,000 per year, described only by politicians as “millionaires,” in order to reach a deal with the newly-elected Congress. But with Americans growing increasingly concerned about the nation’s $14 trillion debt and its $1.6 trillion annual deficit, Mr. Obama today revived the tax hikes as a way to stanch the red ink.
“More than three quarters of the small business owners whom we represent pay their business taxes as individual filers,” said Kevin Shivers, state Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). “An increase in the income tax now would divert money away from job creation, from business expansion, from consumer purchasing and from economic growth.”
Shiversexplained that a business owner reporting $250k in income is highly unlikely to be pocketing that amount.
“They’re not taking home that money. They’re using it to pay for salaries, overhead, supplies and other business expenses,” said Shivers. “Raising the income tax would prevent small businesses from doing any of the things that we need them to do to create jobs and grow the economy.”
Shiverspointed out as well that America’s economy runs on small business.
“Two thirds of all of the net new jobs created in America are created by small businesses,” said Shivers. “Most of them file income taxes as individuals, so the President’s plan would be a significant blow to the most productive sector of the economy.”
Small business owners, according to Shivers, believe that higher taxes in any form would simply allow the federal government to spend beyond its means.
“The federal government collects billions in revenue every day. There’s not a business in the country that makes that much money,” said Shivers. “If Washington politicians can’t live on billions a day, then they need to do what every business owner and every head of household in the country has to do – cut spending to match revenue.”
For more information about the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), please visit www.nfib.com.
