Small businesses shouldn't pay a higher tax rate than multinational corporations

WASHINGTON - April 17, 2017 - PRLog -- A new Pew poll confirms most Americans agree with Main Street Alliance small business owners: corporations and the wealthy don't pay enough in taxes. The survey shows that 62 percent said they are bothered "a lot" that corporations don't pay their fair share, and 60 percent say the rich don't pay enough.

"The playing field is already skewed heavily in favor of large corporations, making it hard for small businesses to compete." said Amanda Ballantyne, National Director of Main Street Alliance. "Unlike their larger corporate counterparts, small business owners don't shift their profits overseas to lower their tax liability. The Buffett Rule is a good guiding principle. Multinationals shouldn't be paying tax at a lower rate than the small businesses that line Main Street."

Small business owners advocate for closing the offshore tax loopholes that enable multinational corporations to dodge paying their taxes. By sending their profits overseas, multinationals are shifting their tax responsibility of approximately $135 billion a year to small businesses and average taxpayers.

"We all share in the benefits of living in this country. Like all benefits, they come at a cost. The problem arises when those who gain the most benefits, and are most able to pay, avoid paying their fair share," said Jim Houser, owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, OR. "When that happens, taxing responsibilities are shifted downward to the rest of us. For our communities, and our very economy to thrive, we have to reverse this tax shifting and make sure everyone, including every corporation, pays their fair share.

Ahead of tax day this year, the Trump Administration and the GOP have been floating ideas for tax reform. What we've seen of Republican tax reform plans, however, include deeper cuts for big corporations without any benefits for Main Street and other average taxpayers:

• Trump's proposal maintains deferral, the biggest offshore loophole, and gives multinational corporations with profits stashed overseas an undeserved tax break of more than $550 billion.
• Trump's plan also slashes corporate tax rates from 35 percent to 15 percent, losing $2.6 trillion in tax revenue over 10 years.
• The House GOP trotted out a new lower rate for "pass-throughs" as a way to benefit small businesses, but most small business owners wouldn't see a dime. Pass-through income is highly concentrated among the top 1 percent of households, or those with incomes above $639,500 in 2016. President Trump, who is the principal owner in approximately 500 pass-throughs, better exemplifies the type of business owner who would benefit from this type of tax cut.

Instead of reinforcing a tax system that makes it easy for corporations to pass the buck on their taxes, Congress should heed the voices of the American people and institute real reforms to the tax code; reforms that ensure profits reaped in the U.S. are invested rather than extracted from the domestic economy. This means ending deferral, closing offshore loopholes, and ensuring that all corporations, regardless of their size, pay their fair share.

http://www.mainstreetalliance.org/small_businesses_should...