A new survey released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) sums up what small businesses want from comprehensive tax reform – a code that closes loopholes in order to make it less complex and less costly to comply with. Underscoring just how broken the tax code is, 85 percent of those surveyed by the nation’s leading small business group, “think that Congress should fundamentally revise the federal tax code in the next year.”

Key findings of the survey of small business owners include:

• Complexity stemming from inconsistent tax preferences and constant changes that increases their cost of doing business tops the list of complaints small businesses cite about the current federal tax code.  
• Highlighting the complexity the tax code presents, 91 percent of the small businesses surveyed hire a professional tax preparer to do their taxes.
• Small businesses are open to trade-offs and express a willingness to eliminate or curtail some tax preferences in exchange for lower rates.
• Noting that the current system of tax preferences makes no sense, 78 percent think the code should have fewer preferences and lower rates.  
• Over one-third of NFIB members say that they calculated the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in their last tax year.

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