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Washington Watch
February 11, 2004
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NASE Elects Board of
Directors at Annual Meeting
The NASE held its Annual Meeting in Grapevine, Texas,
last week, electing the 2004 Board of Directors and
kicking off a new year of exciting benefits and
programs. Hosted by NASE President Robert Hughes,
Association Members listened to overviews on new
benefits programs, NASE advocacy efforts in
Washington, D.C., and the NASE Women Entrepreneurship
Initiative.
NASE spokesman and former NFL Hall of Famer Merlin
Olsen jazzed up the crowd by giving away signed
footballs and telling stories of his time as a
professional athlete and actor on television’s Little
House on the Prairie.
Visit
www.NASE.org for more information on the NASE
Board of Directors, new benefits and the NASE
legislative priority issues for 2004.
NASE Works to Clarify Worker
Classification
Long a priority issue of the NASE, clarifying worker
classification has come to the forefront recently with the
IRS Taxpayer Advocate report to Congress. The Advocate’s
report blamed an $81 billion “tax gap” of unpaid taxes on
the self-employed, and offered a new withholding
recommendation to recoup the lost revenue. In response, the
NASE and other small business trade associations are looking
into reforming a coalition to clarify the definition of an
independent contractor.
Help the NASE in its efforts by sending a letter to your
Member of Congress from the NASE
Legislative Action Center on this issue.
Click here for more information on the report, and the
NASE response.
Action Alert: Support an Independent
Office of Advocacy
Washington Watch often reports on the activities of the
Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Advocacy is the voice of small business within the federal
government. As part of the SBA, the Office of Advocacy advances
the views, concerns, and interests of small business before
Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and
state policy makers. They do economic research, policy analysis,
and small business outreach to help identify issues of concern
to micro-business owners.
But, because the Office of Advocacy gets its funding from the
SBA, it is not truly independent. The current budgetary
arrangement for the Office undermines its mission to keep the
federal government's regulatory tendencies in check.
The NASE supports the independence of the Office of Advocacy,
achieved though additional budgetary autonomy from the Small
Business Administration. A bill that would accomplish this,
“Small Business Advocacy Improvement Act of 2003” (H.R. 1772),
has already passed the House of Representatives. But similar
legislation is stalled in the Senate.
Action Alert! Urge your Senators to support
S. 818 for Office of
Advocacy Independence at the NASE Legislative Action Center.
Bush Proposes Revision of Retirement
Accounts
In his federal budget proposal for 2005, President George W.
Bush recommends three new retirement savings accounts that could
appeal to small business owners. Under the plan, existing
tax-favored accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s would be replaced
by Lifetime Savings Accounts (LSA), Retirement Savings Accounts
(RSA), and Employer Retirement Savings Accounts (ERSA).
According to the Department of Treasury, everyone will be able
to contribute to RSAs and LSAs, with no limitations based on age
or income status. Individuals will be able to convert existing
tax-preferred savings into these new accounts in order to
consolidate and simplify their savings arrangements. The
contribution limits for RSAs and LSAs will be $5,000 per year.
The second proposal would create ERSAs to promote and simplify
employer sponsored retirement plans. The proposal would
consolidate 401(k), SIMPLE 401(k), 403(b), and 457
employer-based defined contribution accounts into a single type
of plan more easily established by any employer.
Read more about the proposal
here.
Do any of these issues affect you? Visit the NASE Legislative
Action Center and “Tell Your
Micro-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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