National Association for the Self-Employed – Business Benefits, Educational Resources and Access to Health Insurance for Small Businesses and Startups > Allowing Tax Incentives To Expire Will Hurt Small Firms

Washington, D.C., September 30, 2009 – Although originally enacted to prevent those Americans with the most resources at their disposal from avoiding taxes, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) did not take into account the effects of inflation, the growth of earnings and expenses. Congress has adjusted the exemption amount over time to keep up with inflation, but that adjustment is now scheduled to end, which would result in an increased tax burden for many small business owners and families.

The NASE’s National Tax Advisor, Keith Hall, testified before the House Committee on Small Business today about how allowing the AMT and other tax incentives to expire would cause a direct and unintended tax increase on the small business sector that many are relying on to continue the economic recovery. Hall suggested that at a minimum, the exemption amounts should not be allowed to decrease, but should be increased annually based on an inflation index in order to continue the recovery.

“Allowing the increase in the exemption amount to ‘sunset’ would directly increase the tax burden for many Americans past their ‘fair share’ simply because they may live in a state with a higher than average state income tax. Others would pay more than their fair share simply because they have a larger than average family. Others would pay more than their fair share simply because they have higher mortgage interest due to a second lien necessary to fund their business or a child’s education. Clearly, none of these scenarios was the intent of the AMT from so many years ago,” noted Hall.

The NASE supports the extension of expiring tax incentives including the AMT exemption, accelerated depreciation, sales tax deductions, first time home owner buyer credit and others. The key point for supporting the extension of tax incentives is to support extending the economic recovery. The NASE believes in the long term impact that small business will have on the overall economy. Promoting investment, encouraging new job development and keeping the playing field level for all taxpayers is essential to long term recovery.

Read the full text of Keith Hall's testimony here.
Watch highlights from Keith Hall's testimony on YouTube.

Track the progress of current legislation that would help micro-businesses and the self-employed by visiting advocacy.NASE.org.

About the NASE
The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation's leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, bringing a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy. The NASE is a 501(c) (6) nonprofit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association's Web site at www.nase.org.

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