Democrat Agenda Will Still Keep Micro-Businesses In Mind

Health Care, Home Office Deductions Expected To Remain Top Issues

Tuesday’s midterm elections brought sweeping changes to Congress, with Democrats now the majority in the House of Representatives and soon to be the majority in the U.S. Senate. These changes will not impact the effectiveness of the advocacy efforts of the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), because the association has continually advocated on behalf of its members in a nonpartisan fashion. It is important to note that, while the top small-business issues that Congress and the NASE have consistently focused will not change, the proposals to address those issues in the new 110th Congress will be considerably different from those discussed in the Republican led, 109th Congress.

“Small business is not the sole domain of one party in our government. Issues affecting the micro-business community are issues which affect our nation,” said Kristie Darien, executive director for the legislative office. “We’re ready to be adaptive to the new agenda in Congress and look at the new policy recommendations proposed by the Democrats on key issues.”

The NASE will continue to advocate for our micro-business agenda in the new congressional session. Our efforts to pass legislation that would remove the inequity sole proprietors face when paying self-employment tax on health insurance premiums will continue to be our main priority. Over the years, this issue has had continued bipartisan support. Additionally, the NASE is hopeful of an increased push for health care tax credits for small businesses, as well as refundable tax credits for the uninsured. There are a number of other issues that are of special importance to micro-business:

• Standardizing the Home Office Deduction

• Proposals to Address the Tax Gap

• Price and Quality Transparency in Our Health System

• Paperwork Reduction

• Support for Federal Small Business Programs