National

As 2012 progresses, the political heat in Washington is climbing faster than summertime temperatures, and small business is becoming increasingly central to policy debates in Congress. Entrepreneurs make up a core constituency in the United States. With National Small Business Week having recently ended, now is a better time than ever for legislators to reflect on these individuals’ needs and work to address them — one of which is tax relief. Luckily, Congress will have a chance to do just that when the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act of 2012 comes up for a vote in June.

May 20-26 marks National Small Business Week, and over the next several days, Small Business Majority is joining a host of small business advocates and government agencies for events, conference calls and online seminars to honor our leading job creators—small business owners.

More than 19 million U.S. workers are employed by the 3.2 million small businesses eligible for $15 billion in tax credits in the federal healthcare reform, according to a new report released today. The tax credit helps small businesses pay for health coverage for their employees. A major obstacle to coverage, the report notes, is that many small business owners are unaware of these tax credits because of the noisy—and often misleading—debate over healthcare reform.

ADP released data Wednesday revealing our nation’s smallest businesses—those with 1-49 employees—continue to outperform large businesses in the job creation arena. Businesses with fewer than 50 employees created roughly half of all new jobs in April, while small businesses overall accounted for a sweeping 96.7 percent of all new jobs last month. Conversely, large businesses created a mere 3.3 percent of new jobs.

If you’re a hardworking small business owner who provides health benefits to your employees, there’s a chance your insurance carrier owes you money. And if it does, you can start looking for a check in the mail. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are being held accountable to their customers in a brand new way — which means they’re expected to owe businesses and individuals a whopping $1.3 billion this year, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Across the United States, Main Street small businesses are working to rebuild our economy. These entrepreneurs are doing all they can to hire, grow and move their businesses forward. And they’re doing it largely through innovation — particularly in the clean energy arena.

Small business owners support government investments in clean energy and believe such investments have an important role in creating jobs and boosting the economy, according to an opinion poll of 600 small business owners in six states released today by Small Business Majority.

Today, entrepreneurs in Small Business Majority’s network headed to the White House as part of the Champions of Change program. This week’s theme: Innovations in Renewable Energy.

Champions of Change was created to highlight individuals and small business owners each week who have been deeply involved in helping to advance their communities’ place in a competitive, modern economy by creating jobs or aiding economic or social development in some way. The program has covered a broad set of subjects ranging from the Affordable Care Act to rebuilding America’s infrastructure.

It was disappointing to see the Paying a Fair Share Act, or the “Buffett Rule,” fail to pass the Senate today. According to national opinion polling, small business owners believe they’re at a disadvantage when it comes to taxes and agree individuals earning more than $1 million should be taxed at a higher rate. The Buffett Rule was in line with their views and could have been an important first step in much-needed comprehensive tax reform.