BY CONGRESSWOMAN MAZIE HIRONO, D-HAWAII – Hawaii is home to thousands of exceptional small businesses, including diverse mom and pop stores, family-owned restaurants, and unique art studios. These businesses drive our economy and support our communities by creating jobs, enticing visitors to return to Hawaii, and offering residents a chance to shop local.
We must continue to support small businesses whenever possible.
The Small Business Tax Cut Act actually does very little to help the kinds of small businesses that make Hawaii so great. Due to the broad definition it sets for a ‘small business’ — those with fewer than 500 full-time employees — and the type of tax benefits it would provide, this legislation will result in billions of dollars in handouts to corporate law partners, financial consultants, sports franchises, and entertainers. In fact, the Joint Committee on Taxation found that this bill’s impact on economic growth and jobs is ‘so small as to be incalculable.’
Clearly that’s not a good way to create jobs or provide targeted support that is fiscally responsible. I am disappointed that the House failed to adopt an amendment that would have provided targeted relief for small businesses that invest in growing and creating jobs in the United States.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hirono today voted against H.R. 9, tax legislation that supporters claim would provide tax relief to small businesses. Hirono maintains the bill would add $46 billion to the deficit with half of the benefits going to persons who earn more than $1 million a year.
Mazie,
A 500-employee company on the mainland is indeed a small business; likewise a company grossing $200 million in revenues. However, in Hawaii, a tiny state, such a company is considered a “large” business. It’s all relative. Thus Mazie thinks in those terms.
Comments are closed.