KATIE VLIETSTRA

California, home to the largest state-operated individual health care exchange, recently announced premium rates for 2014. Thirteen insurers will offer a wide range of plans in four categories: platinum, gold, silver, and bronze, for the anticipated 5.3 million Californians who will enroll in the exchange market.

Many business owners are following with interest the recent passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 (S. 734) by the United States Senate. The legislation would allow for states to collect and remit sales taxes from Internet sales. Businesses with revenue less than $1 million in online sales are exempt.

In April, the NASE provided feedback to the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on its small-business tax reform discussion draft. In blunt terms, only one of the four components has any bearing on the self-employed community: the Unified Deduction for Start-Up and Organizations Expenses.

The NASE enthusiastically supports H.R. 886, America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2013, introduced by Representative Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.) and cosponsored by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), which makes several key small-business tax deductions permanent, including the health insurance deduction for the self-employed, the signature legislative priority of the NASE.

"The findings of our tax survey re-emphasize the growing impatience of the self-employed as Congress continues to fail to address comprehensive tax reform," said Director of Government Affairs Katie Vlietstra. "Seventy-eight percent of respondents support efforts to reform both the individual and corporate tax structure; in fact, 61% of respondents are open to exploring proposals that drop the individual rate and eliminate deductions."

NASE is waiting for responses to questions it posed to each campaign. And although next week's debate will ask the candidates to discuss foreign policy, "10 days out from the election they'll probably spin their answers out to domestic issues," Vlietstra said.

As in many presidential elections, both sides are touting the importance of small business and offering plans to help them grow. The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is used to hearing lip service from politicians who say they want to help, but rarely follow through with policies for the self-employed.

Earlier this week, the NASE submitted a letter to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax and Select Revenue formally requesting a hearing on H.R. 6102, America’s Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2012.

“Sadly, our survey re-enforces the idea that economic recovery is slow going and that 70% of survey respondents believe that current state of the economy has either shown no improvement or has worsened in the last 12 months,” stated Katie Vlietstra, Director of Government Affairs for NASE.

Congress is coming out ahead of this month’s payroll tax extension, currently set to expire at the end of February. Senate and House conference committee members have agreed to a 10-month extension of the payroll tax deduction.

The House has introduced another piece of legislation for future self-employed individuals. The Help Entrepreneurs Create American Jobs Act of 2012 makes permanent the deduction for startups at $10,000. If left to expire, the deduction reduces to $5,000.

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) announced its support today of a bill that would help decrease a potential paperwork nightmare for the self-employed and micro-businesses (10 or fewer employees).

The NASE welcomes Ron McNally, CAE, Vice President of Membership & Marketing and Katie Vlietstra, Director of Government Affairs to our team.