President Obama addressed the nation this week with his State of the Union address. Since this is an election year, it was a closely watched affair with the President's words parsed over and over again. One of the most-discussed aspects of the speech was the President's claims to reform the tax system. Some proper changes to America's tax regime could really make a difference for the small-business world.
President Obama made the following eye-opening comments on tax the other evening: “You can call this class warfare all you want, but asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.” Obama preceded these statements with calls for millionaires to pay as much as 30% tax a year.
Now, serious reform to the tax system is required. We were interested to learn that the IFA had sent a letter to the President's office nearly as soon as the speech was finished.
“Franchise businesses could grow significantly faster if the President and Congress offered solutions for long-term certainty on tax reform that do not raise taxes on small business, create additional credit access and a less burdensome regulatory climate that enables, rather than stifles, job creation."
Will the President take the steps prescribed here between now and November? We can't say but we're pretty sure they'd ensure him four more years.