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Congress may be adjourning for August, but there is no Recess for Small Business – especially when it comes to tax policies.   Ahead of ­Congress adjourning for its annual August Recess, NSBA is leading a coalition of small-business organizations to send a letter to House Members and key Committees ­outlining priorities leading up to legislative discussions for a 2025 tax bill. RELATED | NSBA Priority Issues – Taxes Citing the small business impact on the U.S. economy, including how small businesses supply roughly half of all private sector jobs, NSBA is leading this coalition to urge Congress to take action on pro-growth tax policies. Specifically, NSBA and the small-business community would greatly benefit from an extension of the Section 199A deduction, as well as reinstatement of the Section 174 Research & Experimentation expensing regime. Among other mechanisms, these deductions and tools are critical to maintaining and enhancing the vitality of small businesses across the U.S. RELATED | NSBA Urges Action in Congress on Common Sense Tax Policies With the letter directed at specific Members of Congress and staff with jurisdiction over tax policies, NSBA will continue to use its membership and the wider small-business community to facilitate a central role for small business in discussion and action on tax policies. Follow NSBA as we continue tracking these policies and tax priorities, and share your small-business story, including how tax policies affect your enterprise and bottom line with our Voter Voice tool .

Bill Belknap Testifies Before Congress on Federal Contracting and Veteran-Owned Businesses FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, July 23, 2024 Contact | Molly Day 202-552-2904 | mday@nsba.biz Washington, D.C. – Earlier today, National Small Business Association Trustee William Belknap, Sr., owner of AEONRG, LLC, testified before a joint hearing of the House Subcommittees on Small Business Contracting and Infrastructure and Veterans Affairs Economic Opportunity.  The hearing, “Leveling the Playing Field: Examining the Landscape of Veteran Owned Small Businesses” was focused on how to improve and bolster access to the federal marketplace for veteran-owned small businesses. Belknap’s firm is a VA-certified SDVOSB in the federal contracting space, providing construction services for federal clients, primarily for Veterans Affairs Medical Centers since 2012. “Veterans make up a substantial portion of the small business community, owning roughly two million businesses and employing nearly 5.5 million Americans, however veteran business owners face unique and persistent challenges,” stated Belknap. “There are a handful of simple changes that can be made to the federal acquisition process to make it more attractive and more efficient for veteran entrepreneurs to become federal government contractors.” Belknap went on to highlight the following adjustments that could achieve increased ease and efficiency: Simplify solicitations and contracts and migrate to periodic one-time registration entities such as SAM or SDVOSB renewal. Count military service toward proposal past performance/experience. Improve accountability of federal agencies to meet set aside goals and avoid contract bundling that precludes many small businesses from viably competing. Promote Veteran entrepreneur mentorships. Incorporate modern self-reporting in contract performance analysis Standardize and improve agency acquisition training. Increase maximum SDVOSB sole-source thresholds and use 8A regulations in SDVOSB Awards. Please click here to watch the hearing and here to read the full testimony. Celebrating more than 85 years in operation, NSBA is a staunchly nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of America’s entrepreneurs. NSBA's 65,000 members represent every state and every industry in the U.S. Please visit www.nsba.biz or follow us at @NSBAAdvocate. ###

The NLRB has ended its efforts to eliminate an Appeals Court injunction over the NSBA-opposed joint-employer rule. Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) withdrew a federal appeal in the 5th Circuit to end an injunction over its latest version of the joint-employer rule. RELATED | NSBA Supports Flexibility for Small-Business Owners on the Joint-Employer Rule Earlier this year, the NLRB published final rule changes for the joint-employer standard, a misguided proposal which would essentially make larger companies and franchisors responsible and liable for the employment practices of their franchisees, suppliers, vendors, contractors, and subcontractors. “I am relieved that our voice was heard and this rule will not be coming to fruition – this is a major win for America’s small businesses,” stated NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken. “From the beginning, NSBA was outspoken in our opposition to this innovation-killing rule. It would have caused a massive scaling-back by larger companies in their work with small businesses as suppliers, they would have looked to take them over and bring them “in-house”, leading to fewer start-ups, lost innovation, higher costs, and a less vibrant entrepreneurial economy.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed suit over the final rule, which, with support from NSBA, resulted in an injunction against certain effects yielded by these changes. The rule received widespread push-back and ultimately, last week’s decision to drop their appeal in the lawsuit means the injunction against the rule will stand and it will not go into effect. RELATED | NSBA and the Joint-Employer Standard in 2024 While this is the end of the road for this particular proposal from NLRB, NSBA will continue to be vigilant and stand up for common-sense rules that embrace fairness and flexibility for small-business owners. Follow us as we continue tracking changes to the joint-employer standard from the NLRB, including responses from the court room to Capitol Hill.

Applications for NSBA's next class of Trustees are due Aug. 9! Ensuring the voice of small business across the country since 1937, your chance to join NSBA's efforts to support small business is now: Join NSBA’s Board of Trustees! Now through Aug. 9, apply and nominate leaders to ensure the future of our Small-Business community. Learn more here.

Think the Corporate Transparency Act doesn't affect your small business? Think again, and learn what NSBA is doing about it in this update on the CTA. JUNE 27 | This week, NSBA and TaxSpeaker hosted a roundtable webinar on an update on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). RELATED | NSBA Fighting for Small Business with Lawsuit Against the CTA NSBA is continuing its advocacy work on behalf of small business to stop the CTA, winning a federal lawsuit over the U.S. Department of Treasury and its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for its unconstitutional enactment of this cumbersome policy. While the federal government is appealing this decision, the current CTA law requires any business entity that was not a member of NSBA before March 2024, with 20 employees or less to file a beneficial ownership form with the Treasury. Hear the latest on NSBA's efforts against the CTA in this informative webinar discussion, and follow NSBA as we continue our work to protect small business from cumbersome, unconstitutional policies: nsba.biz/cta

NSBA applauds recent efforts across Washington to expand access to capital for small businesses. JUNE 20 | This week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the 7(a) Working Capital Pilot (WCP) Program.  This program offers newly structured lines of credit from 7(a) lenders. RELATED | NSBA Survey: More than 50 Percent of Businesses Struggle with Access to Capital Backed by the SBA, WCP lending is designed to give greater flexibility than traditional term loans, including transaction- and asset-based loans, as well as specific purpose loans, such as for electricians, plumbers, and other small contractors who may need a line of credit to perform work on certain qualifying jobs. Improving Access to Capital is a critical Priority Issue for our community, and NSBA applauds the SBA for seeking new methods of meeting the varying capital needs of America’s small businesses. RELATED | Review NSBA’s Priority Issues for 2023-2024 Follow NSBA as we continue engaging with SBA on solutions for the Priority Issue, and find complete details on the WCP here.

Senators are considering new skills and training on AI for small-business owners. JUNE 12 | Last week, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and fellow committee member, Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to equip small businesses with artificial intelligence training tools. The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training and Toolkit Act of 2024 would require the Commerce Department to create tangible resources for small businesses to help with emerging AI technologies. Several Members of Congress are seeking to craft regulations that boost AI’s potential and protect small-business owners from harm. A number of recent studies suggest that small businesses across industries, such as cybersecurity and health care, have been embracing AI to assist with marketing, research, customer service, and other tasks. Follow NSBA as we continue tracking this legislation in Congress and developing comprehensive technology policy that best serves small-business owners.

Access to capital is a major challenge facing the small-business community. JUNE 12 | Last week, U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) introduced the Unlocking Capital for Small Businesses Act, which aims to provide a simpler regulatory regime for private placement brokers and finders. This legislation would exempt the above classes from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission registration required under the Securities Exchange Act, creating a safe harbor for finders, and scaling back regulations for private placement brokers. Supporters of these exemptions and conditions believe the changes will better facilitate capital formation for small businesses without access to institutional investors. Access to Capital is an NSBA Priority Issue affecting small businesses, and Senator Cramer’s legislation offers a promising tangible step toward action on this major challenge. This pending legislation is also supported by Americans for Prosperity and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. RELATED | NSBA Member Poll: Access to Capital “Capital access is critical to the growth and survival of America’s small businesses, and we are grateful that Congress is taking action to help small businesses scale more easily and effectively. Small businesses too often find themselves caught in a divide: they’re becoming too large for family and friends to provide meaningful capital, yet too small for institutional investors to support. Senator Cramer’s Unlocking Capital for Small Business Act will go a long way to freeing up a vital new stream of capital for these small businesses caught in the middle,” Todd McCracken, President and CEO of National Small Business Association, said as quoted in Sen. Cramer’s press release. Follow NSBA as we continue tracking this and action on our current Priority Issues. Click here for bill text. Click here for one pager from Sen. Cramer’s office. RELATED | SBC: NSBA Membership Votes and Ratifies Priority Issues for 2023-2024

On June 5, 2024, NSBA hosted a “Veteran Entrepreneurs’ Town Hall with the SBA’s National Ombudsman and Office of Veteran’s Business Development" webinar. Watch the webinar any time, and learn more about NSBA's Veterans' Network here

Federal regulations affecting small business must be accountable to this important community. On May 29, NSBA signed a letter to the House Committee on Small Business and its Chairman Roger Williams (R-Texas) commending its investigation into federal regulations affecting small business. In the letter, NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken and Director of Government Affairs Reed Westcott stated: “…we write to express our support and gratitude for the recent investigation conducted by the House Small Business Committee into the compliance of federal agencies with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). We commend the Committee’s diligent efforts in identifying and addressing the shortcomings of federal agencies in adhering to the mandates of the RFA, which are crucial in protecting small businesses from undue regulatory burdens.” Read the full text here, review the Letters, Comments, and Testimony NSBA regularly submits on issues in our community, and follow us as we continue our efforts to ensure Congress and the laws it creates are most serving of small business. RELATED | Learn How You Can Start Driving Change Through Congress for Your Small Business

"Sometimes dreams are born from storms...." Meet Kerry Smith, president and CEO of Construction News and Review (CNR) Magazine.  From writer to owner, Kerry’s success was not built in a day, but her commitment to creating a new brand and impact for CNR is a testament to the spirit of small-business ownership – one NSBA couldn’t be more privileged to support. Read Kerry’s story, get inspired by CNR’s journey, and learn how NSBA can help your small business stand out and thrive in the storm.

1600 Penn or 101 Main, ineffective small-business policy is on Front Street for NSBA. On May 15, NSBA joined the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) and more than 215 organizations in a letter to express strong opposition to H.R. 8337, the Bank Resilience and Regulatory Improvement Act. This bill would increase asset thresholds, where, once reached, certain regulatory requirements apply to financial institutions. NSBA’s opposition on H.R. 8337 is due to Section 101(b) of the bill, which would exempt all financial institutions with assets of up to $50 billion from Federal Reserve Regulation II. Regulation II places reasonable limits on debit interchange fees that Visa and Mastercard centrally price-fix on behalf of card-issuing financial institutions and that merchants are required to pay on every debit card transaction. RELATED | NSBA Stands Against Credit Card Fees Affecting Small Business Although NSBA takes no position on the other provisions of H.R. 8337, we stand with the MPC and oppose the legislation in its current form inclusive of Section 101. Follow NSBA as we continue monitoring this legislation and credit card fees policies coming from Capitol Hill, and read the full letter here.