The House Committee on Small Business held a hearing this week that explored the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on small business.
The hearing — titled “Is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act a Help or Hinderance to Main Street?” – featured testimony from small business owners and tax experts on how the law has affected operations since it was enacted on Dec. 22, 2017.
One of the speakers was past chairman of the National Small Business Association Grafton Willey. Willey said that while the new tax law made some tax cuts, it increased the overall complexity for small businesses and their tax practitioners.
“There are some good things in the legislation, there are some bad things in the legislation,” Willey said. “And while I think it’s overall impact is positive, there is no question that more should be done to ensure simplification, fairness, and long-term sustainability.”
Willey made a slew of recommendations to improve it. Overall, he said it should be simplified. He also said the rates for individuals and small businesses should be made permanent. He would also like to see it close the state and local tax (SALT) limitation and make permanent the R&D tax credit. Further, Willey advocated for the increased estate tax and AMT exemption to be made permanent.
“While these and other fixes are important, small business is also very concerned about the national debt,” Willey said at the hearing. “Policymakers have talked about the debt and deficit for years, but nobody seems to take it seriously. This is an issue that needs to be dealt before it’s too late.”