It’s a rare day when I can say that I agree with the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
But apparently we agree with income tax rate parity between small businesses that pay their taxes through their own personal returns and C-corporations.
In the early 2000s we advocated to the South Carolina General Assembly that small businesses organized at S-corps, LLCs or sole proprietors ought to pay 5% state income tax instead of the then 7% on the profits of their businesses just as C-corps paid. We wanted rate parity with big businesses and, while it took several years we finally got it.
Now the NFIB is using that same argument to oppose the draft tax reform of the U.S. tax code offered last week by the chairman of the U.S. House of Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich) according to a story in The Hill.
The problem for the NFIB was that Camp had succeeded in hitting the House GOP’s goal of slashing the top corporate rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. But the Ways and Means Committee chairman was only able to get the top individual rate — now 39.6 percent — to 35 percent, even though Camp had said it was “simply unfair” for individuals to pay more than corporations. . . . “The rate parity was something that has been a huge priority,” (Brad) Close said. “We’re disappointed.”
What Congress should be doing on tax reform is simply to eliminate the offshore tax havens multinational corporations use to pay none or little in federal income tax. Just starting with that will effectively help achieve income tax parity with small businesses that we and the NFIB want.