Small Business Owners Tell Congress How ‘All Policy Is Local’ When It Comes to Tax Bill

Rachel Ledbetter
Director, Policy & Political Communications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

David Eller
Communications and Strategy Intern, U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Published

March 11, 2025

Without congressional action, the U.S. taxpayers will face the largest tax increase in American history at the end of the year, when many important provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA) are scheduled to expire.

Members of the U.S. Chamber’s Small Business Council went to Capitol Hill to meet with congressional offices and share stories on how federal tax policy impacts their businesses and local communities, and urge Congress to permanently extend the pro-growth provisions of the TCJA.

Their primary messages were:

The TCJA’s pro-growth reforms should be made permanent.
The 20% deduction for pass-through business income provides them with capital for reinvestment in operations and workforce; and
The deduction for research (R&D) expenses must be reinstated because it’s an investment in technology and an investment in people.

While on Capitol Hill, they met with lawmakers and staff from House and Senate offices from Maryland, California, Utah, Ohio, Minnesota, Alaska, Florida, and New York, and staff from the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.

a group of people posing for a photo — (L-R): Mike Zaffaroni of Liberty Landscape Supply, Philip Freeman of Murphy's Naturals, Brian Butler of Vistra Communications, Joe Shamess of Flintlock Capital, Rep. Aaron Bean, Andrea Porwoll of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Allen Brooks of Continues Arcade, and Adam Fazackerley of Lay-N-Go.

In their words:

“A competitive tax code promotes a healthy economic ecosystem. The more capital there is for people to invest in their businesses, the more they have the ability to hire and make improvements in their office spaces. The more money that's in the system; the more generous wages they can provide to pay their employees.” - Brendan McCluskey, President of Trident Builders in Baltimore, Maryland
“It is personal, and people don't always understand that. Small businesses are focused on impact—we focus more on who we can help and who we can give raises to, who we can give bonuses to, who we can raise their commissions to. If they're doing a good job, we're willing to pay them. But that 20% deduction is going to make a big, big difference to small businesses and it trickles down into everyday life.” - Renee VanHeel, Founder and President of Pay It Forward Processing in Cape Creek, Arizona
“[With a competitive tax code] I've been able to put more money into our local healthcare organization. We have a foundation that we support in a Cancer Center. We've been able to be more competitive on wages, improve our technology, and I've been able to buy a truck for my business in our area. We've been able to invest in those kinds of things and help our people with better contributions to their retirement plans.” - Karen Olson Beenken, President and CEO of beverage distributor The Blue Rock Companies in Sidney, Montana
“Having a 20% pass-through deduction has let me take my employees on annual retreats for essential team bonding. It's helped me really provide benefits that I would not otherwise be able to provide. And now, I have a senior team that is with me and continues to need raises, bonuses, paid maternity leave, 4O1K matching... [Not being able to provide those things] is going to severely impact the team that I have and their families and their ability to stay at my company.” - Michelle Mekky, Founder and CEO of PR firm Mekky Media Relations in Chicago, IL

Dig deeper: A new public opinion survey released by the Chamber reports overwhelming support for making pro-growth provisions of TCJA permanent.

Furthermore, Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate who advocates for permanent tax relief. Most of the TCJA’s pro-growth reforms are set to expire at the end of the year.

Bottom line: Smart tax policy is critical to American businesses, and delivering this message to members of Congress is a key priority for the Chamber this year.

Learn more about the Chamber’s Growing America’s Future campaign, which calls on Congress to advance competitive, pro-growth tax policies to grow the economy, raise wages for workers, and improve the standard of living for all Americans.