Reform tax code to help our backbone: Small businesses
With the U.S. economy on the rebound, and a full agenda awaiting Congress, small businesses are at a crossroads. On one hand, Florida’s economy is back, practically recovered from the Great Recession, thanks in large part to smart fiscal policy from our elected officials in Tallahassee. On the other, small businesses, comprising about 99 percent of Florida employers, face dramatic hikes in health care and operating costs.
According to a 2012 U.S. Census Bureau report, Florida has the third-most minority-owned small businesses and the second-most African-American businesses. Miami alone has the second-highest proportion of Hispanic-owned businesses in the U.S. We need to promote policies that encourage Florida’s minority-owned small businesses to continue this upward trajectory, expanding the free market and adding good jobs.
One thing main street businesses in Florida desperately need is tax reform. The last time Congress passed comprehensive tax reform, “Back to the Future” was in theaters, “Careless Whisper” topped the charts and the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl. Thirty years later, we are still operating on the same, outdated laws. A 21st-century tax code would spur the economy and help Florida’s small businesses keep more of their earnings. That’s capital that can be used to add stores, increase wages, buy new equipment and keep the business in the family for future generations.
Florida has one of the nation’s oldest populations, with a median age of 41.2, and the largest senior citizen population (18.6 percent age 65-plus). So the state is disproportionately affected by the federal estate tax. Fortunately, we have no state death tax, a big draw for small businesses and retirees. A recent George Mason University study ranks Florida No. 1 in fiscal health in the U.S.
The issue of minimum wage becomes a simple math problem for many Florida small businesses at a time when automation is becoming more affordable.
Sadly, most family-owned businesses don’t survive into the second generation. This adversely affects minority-owned businesses, which make up a significant proportion of Florida’s economy. Our leaders should listen to small businesses on minimum wage, reform the tax code, eliminate the death tax and let America’s free enterprise flourish.