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Republicans Control the White House, Senate, and House
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU!
The 115th Congress will not look so different from the 114th, the Republicans still hold the majority in the Senate and House, however, in what many perceived as a shocking election, the Republicans now also hold the White House, President-elect Donald Trump, will have a path and the support to enact many of his campaign promises.
As stated in a communication to members and lawmakers, NASE is positioned and ready to advocate for the self-employed in three key areas: health care, regulatory reform, and tax reform.
HEALTH CARE
The Affordable Care Act provided vital health care coverage for millions of Americans, but it must be fixed to ensure it works for everyone. With increasing premiums and fewer choices, the Trump Administration and leaders in Congress must implement a system that incentives Americans choosing to enroll in health care by first eliminating the penalty, offering a tax deduction, while reducing costs and implementing additional options for the American public and self-employed who fall into the individual market.
ELIMINATING BURDENSOME REGULATIONS
Millions of American small businesses are overwhelmed with a burdensome malaise of regulations that unnecessarily impact their budgetary bottom-lines. Before implementing any new regulations, our government and policymakers must undertake a rigorous and realistic evaluation of how current regulations are already negatively affecting the American small business community. For instance, the recent Department of Labor Overtime Rule negatively affected many small businesses and hit them right in their pocketbooks.
TAX REFORM
To strengthen our economy and build a strong and healthy workforce — including small and large businesses alike — we must move forward with an approach to tax reform that makes our code fairer and simpler, including individual tax reforms, which is where most self-employed and micro-businesses file. These individual changes include small tweaks and are fertile ground for bipartisan cooperation on any reform package, such as amending the definition of “employee” to include an owner of a sole proprietorship to take advantage of additional benefits; simplifying the definition of a independent contractor to clarify a workers’ status; streamlining the deduction process, such as creating a standard schedule C-Z by expanding as many deductions as possible for business expenses; and offering a standardized business deduction.
The NASE’s advocacy efforts continue and we look forward to working with all members of Congress, in both chambers, and within the Administration to ensure the opportunities for ensuring self-employed prosperity will be championed in the coming year.
Katie Vlietstra is NASE’s Vice President for Government Relations and Public Affairs