Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt has joined a group of 12 Republican colleagues, including Senator Steve Daines from Montana, to introduce the Main Street Tax Assurance Act. This legislation aims to make permanent the pass-through deductions for small businesses originally passed as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The exemption gives small businesses, which are entities too small to be subject to corporate tax, a deduction of up to 20% of eligible income for pass-through taxes. These businesses make up 98% of all U.S. businesses and employ almost half of the U.S. workforce.
Currently, the exemption is set to expire in 2025, which would result in a significant tax increase for small businesses across the country. Britt stated, “Small businesses are still struggling to survive amid persistently high inflation and the Biden administration’s insistence on imposing reckless tax and spending policies on hardworking Americans. For small businesses, the most unforgivable right now is a massive looming tax increase. We must ease the burden on small businesses, from the long-established, family-owned stores on local Main Streets in this great state and across the nation.”
Other supporters of the bill include Senate Republican Conference Speakers John Barrasso from Wyoming and Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. Additional supporters of the bill include Jim Rich from Idaho, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, Roger Marshall from Kansas, Mike Brown from Indiana, Bill Hagerty from Tennessee, Chuck Grassley from Iowa, Tim Scott from South Carolina, Ted Cruz from Texas, Roger Wicker from Mississippi, and Kevin Kramer from North Dakota. Overall, this legislation has received strong support from stakeholder groups.