Bipartisan Momentum Builds for Buchanan Small Biz Tax Bill

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan said today momentum is building for his bill to ensure that small businesses never pay a higher tax rate than large corporations with the introduction of identical legislation in the Senate by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

"I'm thrilled that two prominent senators this week introduced my Main Street Fairness Act in the Senate," Buchanan said. "This shows the broad support for making sure that no small business pays a higher tax rate than large companies or corporations."

Buchanan's bill, introduced last year and reintroduced again in January for the new session of Congress, has been rolled into the House Ways and Means Committee's tax reform blueprint.

His bill would ensure that most small businesses -- which account for 94 percent of all businesses in America -- never pay a higher tax rate than large corporations. It would do so by removing income earned by so-called passthrough businesses from the individual tax code and treat this income like business income earned by corporations.

In introducing the Senate version this week, Sen. Nelson said, "Small businesses are the cornerstone of our local economies and this bill is just one way we can help them succeed."

Senator Collins said: "Small businesses employ more than half of all workers and have generated approximately two-thirds of our country's net new jobs since the 1970s. Unfortunately, our nation's small businesses face a higher tax burden that affects their ability to compete with large firms in the marketplace."

The Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee have released a blueprint for reforming the American tax code that includes Buchanan's approach to tax parity between large and small businesses in America.

"The tax treatment of business income will build on concepts developed by Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida in his Main Street Fairness Act," the blueprint states.

The businesses that would be helped by Buchanan's plan account for more than 68 million jobs.

"It's time for Washington to stop punishing small businesses and start helping them," Buchanan said.

A broad coalition of prominent business and tax reform groups have expressed their support for Buchanan's measure, including the National Federation of Independent Business, National Association of Manufacturers, Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Retail Federation, Americans for Tax Reform, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida TaxWatch.

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