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Washington Watch
April 30, 2003
Bill Introduced to Eliminate
Self-Employment Tax on Health
Insurance Premiums
Federal legislation introduced today would give 16
million self-employed Americans better access to
affordable health care coverage, ending a significant
double-digit disparity in premium rates that has
contributed to the nation's health-care crisis. The
"Self-Employed Health Care Affordability Act" would
eliminate strong cost penalties in health insurance
imposed on the self-employed and make quality health
care more affordable for millions of Americans who now
make up the majority of working uninsured.
Stay tuned to Washington Watch, where next week's
edition will feature more about the bill and a press
conference with Chairman of the House Small Business
Committee Donald Manzullo (R-IL) and Ranking Member
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), both original co-sponsors of
the bill.
Action Alert: Small Business Expensing
Congress is considering cutting the small-business expensing
provision from the Bush Administration’s economic stimulus plan.
We need your help to make sure they don’t!
As reported previously in the Washington Watch, the President’s
proposed $750 billion stimulus proposal included an increase in
Section 179 expensing from the current $25,000 to $75,000, as
well as the acceleration of individual income tax rate
reductions and other provisions. Lawmakers have taken action to
ensure that any plan will not be more than $350 billion or $550
billion, and have begun talk about eliminating the expensing
provision to bring down the overall cost of the package.
Section 179 expensing is vital to the self-employed and
micro-businesses, and should be included in any plan to
stimulate the economy. Tell your Member of Congress to vote for
the small-business expensing provision at the NASE
Legislative Action
Center. Tell the NASE how important expensing is to you at
“Tell Your Story.”
NASE Board Briefed on Administration Activities
The NASE
Board of Directors saw our Legislative Office in action this
week. During a meeting in Washington, D.C., the Board was
briefed by several members of the Executive Branch who work
closely with the NASE advocacy staff.
They met with a representative from the
White House Office of Public Liaison, who spoke about
the Administration's efforts to promote and support women
entrepreneurship. From the
President’s National Economic Council, the Board heard how
President Bush’s stimulus package would benefit small
businesses. The
Internal Revenue Service briefed the Board on their
outreach efforts to the self-employed and micro-businesses.
Lastly, the U.S.
Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy spoke about model state
legislation and compliance issues, as well as technology and the
self-employed.
The NASE Legislative Office continues its best efforts to
advocate on issues that are important to you. Visit the
Legislative Action
Center and read issue briefs, view testimony and “Tell Your
Story” of how these issues affect your business.
What to Do if Your Employees are "Called-Up" to the
Reserves
Even as the war in Iraq draws to a close, many small
businesses continue to be affected by employees called to duty
with the National Guard and military reserves. What to do to
safeguard your business when an essential employee must report
for duty was the topic of a conference call hosted last week by
the National
Women’s Business Council.
General Bob Hollingsworth, USMC (Ret.), director of the
Employer Support
for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), and Herbert L. Mitchell,
associate administrator of the U.S. Small Business
Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance participated in
the call, and took questions from small and micro-business
owners.
“Many businesses - including women-owned firms - are feeling the
impact of losing employees to the National Guard or military
reserves,” said Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chair of the NWBC. “For
some firms, particularly small ones, this loss can create
significant problems in the company's ability to remain
competitive in an already challenging economy.”
Information about the SBA
Military
Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (MREIDL) was
discussed during the call. The MREIDL provides funds to
eligible small businesses to meet its ordinary and necessary
operating expenses that it could have met, but is unable to
meet, because an essential employee was “called-up” to active
duty in their role as a military reservist.
You can hear a free playback of the conference call by following
these steps:
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Dial 1-866-803-1430 to access the
playback center;
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Press "1" to indicate you would
like to listen to your recording;
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Enter 3687613# for your Conference
ID;
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Enter 3465975# for your Playback
ID.
Hearing on IRS Regulatory Flexibility
This week, the
House
Small Business Committee will hold a hearing on compliance
with the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980. Specifically, the
hearing will examine the efforts by the
Internal Revenue
Service to follow the law, which requires that federal
agencies evaluate the effect of their regulatory actions on
small business and take steps to minimize undue burdens.
The NASE has been very pleased with the recent efforts made by
the Internal Revenue Service to become small business friendly,
including the release of “Headliners” articles for Washington
Watch, as well as educational material posted on the
Small Business/Self-Employed division Web site. However,
more can be done when it comes to the self-employed and
micro-business compliance with IRS rules. Specifically, the
NASE supports tax simplification and clarification of the
independent contractor status.
According to the U.S.
Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses bear a
disproportionate share of the federal regulatory burden,
spending on average $6,975 annually per employee. Compare that
to the $4,463 per employee that a large business pays.
Do any of these issues
affect you? Visit the NASE
Legislative Action Center and “Tell Your Small
Business Story.” This will help the NASE understand -
on a personal level - how key legislative issues are
affecting your business and your bottom line.
For more information about any of the articles in
Washington Watch, contact Maureen Petron, NASE public
affairs manager, at (202) 466-2100 or
mpetron@nase.org.
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