Washington, D.C. – Over the last year, the Ways and Means Committee held numerous hearings on the State of the American Economy to gather feedback from workers, small business owners, and families about the challenges they are facing in the Biden economy.

During a series of hearings held in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Georgia, small business owners testified again and again to the fact that extending proven, pro-growth tax policies – like those found in H.R. 7024, the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act – would help level the playing field for American manufacturers to compete with China, lower costs to counteract three years of rising inflation, and increase investment to create jobs for workers in their communities.

After the Ways and Means Committee passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act by a vote of 40-3, small business owners who participated in the committee’s field hearing in Peachtree City, Georgia and Yukon, Oklahoma shared their statements of support:

David Bergmann, President of NAECO, LLC, a Georgia airplane parts manufacturer with fewer than fifty employees:

“Every other industrialized country provides accelerated depreciation for job-creating production machinery, and for Research and Development investments. China now allows a 200% ‘super deduction’ to promote R&D investments. H.R. 7024 will level the playing field for American manufacturers.”

Bryan Jackson, owner of Route 66, a small meat processing operation with less than twenty employees:

“I would like to thank the committee for coming to Yukon to listen to small business owners and for working to implement much needed policies that will directly benefit small businesses, including expanding the small business expensing cap and increasing the reporting threshold for businesses that use subcontract labor.”

Lisa Winton, CEO of Winton Machine, a small business that employs fewer than 40 employees:

“Manufacturing is at the heart of communities across the country, including mine. But my ability to hire, invest and purchase equipment that allows me to compete on a global scale has been directly harmed by the expiration of these tax provisions—provisions that spurred innovation and helped finance critical capital investments. If Congress wants to deliver on its commitment to small businesses and avoid sending our dollars to our foreign competitors, then it needs to pass HR 7024 to reaffirm that we believe in growing manufacturing in the United States. Having started my manufacturing business from my home 26 years ago, I’ve seen and overcome many economic challenges. The difference is now I’m being faced with major challenges simultaneously—increased costs for raw materials and components, insurance, labor, and real estate—all of which have lowered my margins and tightened my cash flow. Most of my competition is building their machinery in Europe and Asia. To fully maintain operations in America, I need to stay competitive in a global market. I need Congress to pass this critical legislation that will help not only my company grow and prosper but support the businesses of my vendors and customers.”

Alison Couch, founder and owner of a Georgia tax and business service firm that retains a small staff of just seven employees, Ignite Accounting:

“I am so pleased that the Committee on Ways and Means took my recommendation and increased the decades-old 1099 threshold. This change will reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses and increase in value over time, as it is inflation-adjusted.”

The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act builds on the recommendations made by small business owners to expand innovation opportunities, create jobs, and sharpen America’s competitive edge in key ways:

• Research & Development (R&D) expensing: allow businesses of all sizes to immediately deduct the cost of their U.S.-based R&D investments instead of over five years – encouraging American innovation and improving our competitive position versus China and the rest of the world.
• Interest deductibility: continued flexibility for businesses forced to borrow at higher interest rates to meet their payroll obligations and expand their operations.
• 100 percent expensing: restore full and immediate expensing for investments in machines, equipment, and vehicles.
• Expand small business expensing cap: increase the amount of investment that a small business can immediately write off to $1.29 million, an increase above the $1 million cap enacted in 2017.

Cut red tape for small business: adjust the reporting threshold for businesses that use subcontract labor from $600 to $1,000 and index for inflation – the first update to the threshold since the 1950s.