Blog Post Archive

The Main Street Employers Coalition joined with over 40 national organizations in support of H.R. 23, the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. The bill would rescind billions in questionable funding enacted in 2022 by the previous congress which expanded the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) audit enforcement activities, while doing little to improve woefully inadequate taxpayer service. To access a copy of the letter, please click here.  

What’s the real story behind all these firms offering a big payday through the Employee Retention Credit? The S Corporation Association’s latest podcast, featuring veteran tax practitioner Lynn Mucenski-Keck, has all the answers. The episode is available at the link below, or through your favorite podcast app: Talking Taxes in a Truck Episode 24: “I’m Worried About Everything”  

Today, the Main Street Employers Coalition joined with dozens of its trade association allies to oppose the ENABLERS Act, legislation that would put some 30 million law-abiding small businesses in the crosshairs of federal law enforcement. At its core, the ENABLERS Act relies on criminals, including the lawyers and other financial professionals who assist them, to voluntarily provide an accurate picture of their activities to Treasury. As the letter signed by MSEC makes clear, the chances of bad actors self-reporting … Read More

Today, the Main Street Employers Coalition joined with more than 70 trade associations in opposing the Inflation Reduction Act. A letter sent to lawmakers highlighted the various tax provisions that are harmful to the small and family-owned business community, and points out that now is simply not the time to be raising taxes on these employers. The letter, which can be accessed by clicking here, reads: The undersigned organizations represent millions of Main Street businesses and employ tens of millions … Read More

“The Main Street Employers Coalition – comprised of national trade groups representing individually and family-owned businesses employing millions of Americans in every state – believes the “Inflation Reduction Act” would fail to address the major challenges confronting Main Street today: high inflation, a slow economy, and a tight labor market. “Recent NFIB member surveys make clear that inflation is the number one concern for Main Street businesses right now. With the CPI and PPI indexes measuring forty-year highs, businesses are … Read More

The Main Street Employers Coalition joined with more than 190 business organizations, representing millions of Main Street businesses and tens of millions of American workers, to oppose Senate Democrats effort to raise tax rates on individually and family-owned businesses. The latest proposal includes a 3.8 percent tax rate hike on the active income of 1 million businesses struggling with high inflation and looming recession fears. The letter makes it clear: It’s a tax rate hike, not a loophole closer. Expanding … Read More

Main Street Opposes Inflationary Tax Hikes on Individually & Family-Owned Businesses “It’s the kind of thing you’d do to start a recession, not prevent one.” WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2022) – The Main Street Employers Coalition—comprised of national trade groups representing individually and family-owned businesses employing millions of Americans in every state and district—released the following statement on a Democratic plan to raise tax rates on individually and family-owned businesses: “We oppose Senate Democrats’ double-digit tax hike on the active business income … Read More

Our allies at the S Corporation Association recently held a webinar to highlight the results of its new national survey. David Winston, whose research and polling firm conducted the survey, was on hand to break down the results and explain how voters feel about inflation, the Build Back Better Act, the current state of the economy, and their potential impact on November’s elections. As David made clear, the polling shows that Americans are well aware of the impact additional federal … Read More

Chris Smith, Executive Director of the Main Street Employers Coalition, recently joined the S Corporation Association’s Talking Taxes in a Truck podcast for a timely discussion about what effect the leaked Supreme Court draft decision will have on the tax policy outlook, and the odds of an overhauled Build Back Better Act being passed in the coming months. Chris and S-CORP President Brian Reardon also broke down the reconciliation bill’s various tax hikes, and explained how they specifically target family businesses. … Read More

In an op-ed published in Roll Call today, David Winston of The Winston Group highlights a glaring disconnect between the goals of the Build Back Better Act and the priorities of everyday Americans. The entire piece is worth a read, but the following paragraph perfectly summarizes why the BBB has stalled: When asked which was the more important priority for the country, 66 percent said it was dealing with inflation and the scarcity of goods caused by supply chain problems, … Read More

With inflation rising at a 40-year high, over 90 business groups called on Congress today to end efforts to pass Build Back Better and instead shift to the pressing issues confronting American families & businesses – rising prices, labor shortages & supply chain disruptions. A copy of that letter can be downloaded by clicking here, and is below:   The undersigned business trade groups call on Congress and the Administration to end efforts to pass the multi-trillion-dollar tax increase included … Read More

Today, the Main Street Employers Coalition issued the following statement: The Main Street Employers Coalition strongly opposes the House Democratic tax plan.  The plan is nothing short of a declaration of war on individually and family owned businesses, and is the most anti-Main Street program ever proposed. The tax hike would tilt the playing field even further in favor of large corporations on Wall Street and against Main Street America by increasing the tax rate on public corporations by just … Read More

Yesterday, the Main Street Employers Coalition led more than 120 business trade associations in strong opposition to the Biden tax plan now being considered by Congress.  Our letter makes clear that the proposals represent a direct assault on individually- and family-owned businesses by raising their taxes when they operate, when they are sold, and when they are passed on to the next generation.  It also highlights the fact that the bill would violate the President’s pledge to not raise taxes … Read More

Today, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders released a budget resolution to allow for up to $1.75 trillion of new tax increases. The following is a statement from Chris Smith, Executive Director of the Main Street Employers Coalition: The Main Street Employers coalition strongly opposes the Senate budget resolution released today. The resolution calls for $1.75 trillion or more in higher taxes in the coming years. These tax hikes represent a triple threat to Main Street businesses still struggling to recover from the … Read More

Today, the Main Street Employers Coalition issued the following statement in response to the Wyden proposal to limit the 20 percent Main Street business deduction: “Individually- and family-owned businesses took a big hit during the COVID crisis. The pandemic has taxed them enough — taxing them again while so many are still struggling to recover goes too far. That’s why we oppose Senator Ron Wyden’s proposal to raise taxes on these businesses by limiting the 20% Main Street deduction,” stated … Read More

The Main Street Employers coalition joined with more than 100 business groups to send a letter to Congress strongly opposing any attempt to cap or repeal the Section 199A 20% Qualified Business Income deduction. Section 199A is an essential part of the Tax Code that helps individually- and family-owned businesses remain competitive, and has proven critical in enabling those businesses hardest hit during the COVID pandemic to survive. With Section 199A scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, and … Read More

Today the Main Street Employers coalition joined with more than two dozen groups representing U.S. businesses and employers to unveil a new effort to fight against the Biden plan to raise taxes on job creators. The coalition of 28 industry groups is organized under the name “America’s Job Creators for a Strong Recovery” to make the case that hiking taxes on individually and family owned businesses and corporations will hamper the U.S. economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. … Read More

— Click here to download a copy of the full statement —   Chris Smith, Executive Director of the Main Street Employers coalition of national trade groups, issued the following statement in response to the Biden administration’s American Families Plan: “Main Street businesses took a big hit during the COVID crisis, and the latest Biden plan is a triple threat to individually- and family-owned businesses still struggling to recover.  It would raise taxes on what they earn, raise taxes when … Read More

Of the 41 states that tax pass-through businesses at the owner level, more than half have either adopted our SALT Parity reform or are actively considering it. This is a big deal to the S corporations and partnerships in those states. The disparate SALT treatment they experience puts them at a significant disadvantage compared to their C corporation competitors and compared to entities operating in states with no income tax, like Texas and Florida. Billions are at stake. Using IRS … Read More

Earlier today, the Main Street Employers coalition participated in the Main Street Tax Day Summit hosted by the S-CORP Association and NFIB. Attendees heard Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), small business owners from across the country, and tax policy experts discuss the threat that the ongoing tax debate poses to America’s Main Street businesses. Sen. Daines kicked things off by commenting on the current legislative outlook, and emphasized the importance of preserving key provisions from the 2017 tax bill, notably the … Read More

NFIB & S-Corp Present: A Main Street Tax Day Summit Download Calendar Invite With Special Guest Senator Steve Daines Thursday, April 15th 10am – Noon (EDT) Click Here to Join (No signup necessary – just use the link above to access the virtual event on April 15) Join us April 15th for our Main Street Tax Day Summit Hear from business owners and tax experts as they outline the threat the coming tax debate poses to America’s Main Street Businesses   … Read More

Today the Parity for Main Street Employers Coalition of national groups representing millions of individually and family owned businesses announced its strong support for the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2021, which would make permanent the Section 199A 20-percent deduction for qualified business income. “We thank Representatives Smith and Cuellar, and Senators Daines, Cassidy, Scott (SC), and Portman for their bipartisan leadership on this important legislation to ensure permanent tax parity for individually and family owned businesses,” stated PMSE … Read More

The good news on SALT Parity keeps rolling in.  Just days after California’s Governor signaled his support, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo followed suit and included our pass-through SALT Parity language in his 2022 fiscal year budget proposal. The briefing book accompanying Governor Cuomo’s budget proposal makes clear the state adopted our recommendations in their latest proposal: The Budget includes a new voluntary Pass-Through Entity Tax designed to mitigate the impact of the cap on state and local tax (SALT) … Read More

Given all the activity on the SALT Parity front, we decided to put together some materials outlining the issue, why it’s important, and the status of our efforts. The presentation can be accessed by clicking the preview image below:

More good news on the pass-through SALT Parity front: California Gavin Newsom has included our SALT Parity proposal in his budget proposal for 2021. This news comes on the heels of IRS Notice 2020-75 that confirmed our efforts and made clear to states and businesses that they could adopt SALT Parity legislation without worrying about future regulatory actions. Seven states have adopted our reform to date (Connecticut, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland). Helped by this announcement, we expect … Read More

Increased interest in our SALT Parity efforts means increased questions about how the reforms work and why it is the right plan to help Main Street employers during an extremely challenging time. Click the link below for the full Q&A: Parity for Main Street Employers SALT Parity Q&A

PMSE Statement in Support of Final Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief Package

Congress is on the cusp of passing a bipartisan assistance package to help the families and employers through the last months of the COVID-19 pandemic.  As part of this package, the entire business community and its Hill allies sent a letter supporting expanding and extending the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) while clarifying congressional intent on the tax treatment of PPP loans. Getting the tax treatment of PPP loan forgiveness correct would avoid a surprise $120 billion tax hike on the … Read More

Statement by PMSE ED on Covid Relief Plan

Wall Street is setting records even as millions of Main Street businesses struggle to stay alive, so what’s Congress doing?  Sneaking legislation onto the Defense Authorization Act that makes life easier for big New York City banks by shifting their money laundering responsibilities onto Main Street businesses. The legislation, authored by Caroline Maloney (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA), accomplishes this remarkable task in two simple steps:  1) relieve banks of some of their current anti-money laundering responsibilities; and 2) impose … Read More

Read the full letter by clicking here.

An Op-ed by Christopher Smith, Executive Director of the Parity for Main Street Advisors coalition, ran this morning in the Morning Consult. The Payroll Protection Program enacted this past spring has helped millions of employers and workers survive an economy that was in freefall from COVID-related closures. Now, with the recovery underway, those same small businesses will face a surprise $100 billion tax hike if Congress fails to act soon.  The PPP program’s design was simple – use local banks to … Read More

Read the full analysis by clicking here.

The Parity for Main Street Employers issued the following statement following the House adoption of the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020: “The Parity for Main Street Employers coalition welcomes the overwhelming bipartisan House vote of support for the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA).  The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has provided millions of employers with the funds necessary to keep their workers employed.  The PPPFA will build upon that success and enable more employers to fully … Read More

The Parity for Main Street Employers issued the following statement in response to the release of the HEROES Act:  “The HEROES Act includes 1800 pages of legislative text and $3 trillion of relief, nearly all of it designed to help families, businesses, nonprofits, and governments survive the response to COVID-19.  The repeal of the CARES Act NOL and loss limitation provisions, however, has exactly the opposite effect by raising taxes on family businesses who suffer losses this year.  “This proposed … Read More

What is a Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback? An NOL is the amount by which a company’s expenses exceed its income. An NOL that is “carried back” may be deducted from income earned in previous years, resulting in a refund of tax payments a company made in the past. Similarly, an NOL that is “carried forward” may be deducted from income in future years. For example, if a C corporation made $200,000 in profits every year for five years, but … Read More

Yesterday, the Parity for Main Street Employers coalition sent a letter to House tax writers raising serious concerns with their plan to provide temporary relief from the SALT deduction cap by permanently raising the top tax rate applied to pass-through business income. The bill, titled the “Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act”, is scheduled to be considered by the House Ways & Means Committee today and voted on by the full House next week.  The bill includes one … Read More

The Parity for Main Street Employers coalition and the S Corporation Association hosted a Hill lunch on October 24th, 2019. The briefing focused on the pass-through sector and how it has fared under tax reform.  Speakers included Senator Steve Daines (MT), Marty Sullivan with Tax Analysts, Bob Carroll with EY, David Winston with the Winston Group, Brian Reardon of S-Corp, and Chris Smith with PMSE. Click here to see a replay and additional analysis.

The Parity for Main Street Employers coalition and the S Corporation Association will host a Hill lunch briefing at noon on October 24th in the Kennedy Caucus Room (SR-325). The briefing is open to Hill staff and tax professionals, and will focus on the pass-through sector and how it has fared under tax reform. Speakers include Senator Steve Daines (MT), Marty Sullivan with Tax Analysts, Bob Carroll with EY, and David Winston with the Winston Group. Box lunches will be … Read More

For Tax Day, Parity for Main Street Employers Executive Director Chris Smith’s has an opinion piece in The Hill addressing recent calls for tax increases and highlighting the introduction of The Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2019 to make the 20 percent pass through deduction permanent.  As the piece argues: “Tax reform is just over a year old, yet already there are calls to discard it and raise taxes on incomes, estates, capital gains, accumulated wealth, and even financial transactions. It is a veritable tax hike … Read More

Today over a hundred business groups released a joint letter in support of the Main Street Tax Certainty Act of 2019.  Sponsored by Representatives Jason Smith (MO), Henry Cuellar (TX) and Senator Steve Daines (MT), this bipartisan legislation would make permanent the 20-percent pass-through deduction enacted as part of tax reform.   All Main Street businesses are at risk of losing the deduction when it is scheduled to expire in 2026. In addition to Parity for Main Street coalition members, the groups include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation … Read More

Analysis Paves Way for Other States to Act The Parity for Main Street Employers coalition of national trade groups today released a new analysis by the Wisconsin-based law firm Meissner Tierney Fisher & Nichols highlighting the legal basis for state efforts to preserve the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) for employers organized as pass-throughs. To date, two states (Wisconsin and Connecticut) have adopted new laws that would effectively restore the federal deduction for SALT paid by businesses organized as … Read More

Chris Smith, PMSE Executive Director “A Section 199A deduction that applies broadly to Main Street Employers organized as passthroughs is essential to maintain parity with C corporations and the new 21-percent rate. While the final rules provide some additional clarity, the Treasury chose not to adopt recommendations of the Main Street community on important issues, including aggregation and de minimis rules.” “The economic response to tax reform has been relatively muted in part because the tax relief targeted at pass-through … Read More

We worked hard to make sure this video articulates the unique challenges confronting Main Street businesses following tax reform. We think it does a great job! We intend to take this message to the Hill and the agencies, joined by our broader coalition of Main Street Employer trade groups.

The Parity for Main Street Employers Coalition welcomes Treasury’s guidance applying the new 20% tax deduction to thousands of U.S. businesses organized as pass-throughs—the S-corps, sole proprietorships, and partnerships that comprise 95% of all businesses and who employ the majority of American workers. Read the full statement by clicking here. 

Click here for the full study.

The Parity for Main Street Employers coalition–representing more than one hundred national business groups and millions of Main Street employers–strongly supports efforts across the states to restore the ability of employers organized as pass-through businesses to deduct their State and Local income taxes (SALT) on their federal tax returns. Click here to read more.

The Parity for Main Street Employers (PMSE) coalition released a new survey highlighting the pass-through business community’s initial reaction to the tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).  Early results indicate that the tax relief promised to non-corporate employers is in danger absent clear guidance from IRS and Treasury.  Key results include… Click here to read more.

As the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service drafts rules necessary to implement HR 1, the undersigned organizations request that you use your regulatory authority to adopt a reasonable method of calculating the new 20 percent pass-through deduction to ensure Main Street businesses are not penalized based on how they are organized for business purposes… Read more here.

Today the Parity for Main Street Employers (PMSE) coalition, comprised of trade groups representing American Main Street businesses, named Chris Smith as its new Executive Director. Smith is a Washington public affairs veteran and a former Chief of Staff for both the U.S. Treasury Department and the House Ways and Means Committee… Read more by clicking here.

Now that historic tax reform is done, it’s time for Congress, the Treasury Department and the IRS to work through the details of implementing the new law. For Main Street employers, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As the dust settles, it is becoming clear that there is unfinished business when it comes to tax parity for American employers… Read the full op-ed by PMSE ED Chris Smith in The Hill

If “corporate-only” advocates have their way and the corporate tax rate is reduced, should pass-through businesses just switch to C status to access the lower rates?   Would that shift improve the tax code and how we treat closely-held businesses?  The answer to both questions is an emphatic no… Read the full post by clicking here.

The U.S. is unique in its prevalence of small and family-owned businesses. S corporations and other pass-throughs employ the majority of workers and are the foundation of thousands of local economies, ensuring that the benefits of economic growth aren’t concentrated in a few financial centers… Read the full op-ed by S Corporation Association President Brian Reardon by clicking here.

Key Findings The majority of companies in the United States are pass-through businesses. These businesses are not subject to the corporate income tax; instead, their income is reported on their owners’ tax returns and subject to the individual income tax. Over the past thirty years, the pass-through business sector has expanded significantly. Pass-through businesses now earn more net income than traditional C corporations and employ the majority of the private-sector workforce…   Read more by clicking here.

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:   As Congress debates tax reform to make American businesses more competitive, the undersigned organizations representing employers organized as S corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships offer the following three principles to help guide your efforts… Read the full letter by clicking here.  

Jason Furman is right about the ‘stupid’ policy on overseas income. Domestic policy also isn’t so bright. Read the WSJ Op-Ed By S-Corp’s Brian Reardon and Tom Nichols by clicking here.

Key Findings Pass-through business income is taxed on the business owners’ tax returns through the individual income tax code. Pass-through business income faces marginal tax rates that exceed 50 percent in some U.S. states. Pass-through businesses face only one layer of tax on their profits compared to the double taxation faced by C corporations… Read more by clicking here.