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Today the House of Representatives considered legislation to extend current tax relief for some taxpayers while raising taxes on others, including several million small businesses which create nearly 65% of all new jobs.  Passage of this bill is not likely in the U.S. Senate where 42 Senators signed a letter to Senate leaders pledging to block the inadequate House bill. Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) joined 167 Republicans and 20 Democrats to oppose the measure, saying that this is the wrong time to raise taxes on millions of small businesses.   

 “Raising taxes on millions of small business employers at a time when unemployment remains at 9.6% nationally and much higher locally shows a lack of understanding of basic economics,” said Posey. “This tax increase simply makes no sense. Washington should be focused on creating a more competitive economic environment so businesses of all sizes can grow and add jobs. This bill does the opposite by depriving entrepreneurs and business owners of additional capital which is necessary to compete and expand.”

While this bill was being considered in the House, House and Senate leaders were negotiating with the White House on a bill to extend tax relief for all Americans, including the small businesses that would be hit with higher taxes under the Democrat’s tax bill.  “Bringing this bill up for a vote while these negotiations are ongoing just smells of the type of ‘politics-as-usual’ that Americans are fed up with,” added Posey. “This bill should have been brought to the floor for consideration under an open amendment process. Had that been allowed, broader tax relief would have likely been approved.”

Specifically, the legislation allows taxes to increase on small businesses earning over $200K in income. When you factor in the higher marginal tax rates, the Obamacare taxes on businesses, higher capital gains and a renewed death tax, you can see taxes on millions of small businesses, which employ millions of Americans, increase from 35% to over 45%. "I have yet to hear about a single private sector job created due to a tax increase," concluded Posey.