Coalition Urges Rejection of Tax Increase Measures

September 8, 2021

Honorable Richard E. Neal
Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee
1102 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Neal:

The undersigned organizations representing millions of individually- and family-owned businesses strongly urge you to reject any measures that would raise taxes on Main Street employers as part of the upcoming reconciliation bill.

Individually- and family-owned businesses are the cornerstone of the American economy. They represent nearly all businesses, they employ the vast majority of private sector workers, and they are the building block upon which innumerable communities across this country are built.

The package of tax hikes being considered by the Biden administration and Congress represents a direct assault on these employers. Proposals to raise rates on pass-throughs and C corporations, cap the Section 199A deduction, increase the capital gains tax, and impose capital gains at death would raise taxes on Main Street businesses when they operate, when they are sold, and when they are passed on to the next generation.

This triple threat would lock in unprecedented levels of government spending and taxes that would handicap these businesses, and the communities that rely upon them, for decades to come. They would also violate the President's pledge not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $400,000 a year. Many individual and family business owners that make less than $400,000, including the 1.4 million private C corporation owners, family businesses with ownership shares held in trust, and entrepreneurs selling their business after a lifetime of work, will be directly harmed by these tax increases.

As inflation and unemployment remain stubbornly high, Main Streets across the country remain boarded up, their businesses closed and their workers idle. Estimates suggest up to one-third of all private businesses have closed their doors during the COVID-19 lockdowns, with more joining them every day.

Congress should avoid tax policies that harm Main Street employers at any time, much less at this difficult moment in our nation's history. The Biden tax hikes pose a triple threat to the ability of these individually- and family-owned businesses to survive an uncertain future, and we urge Congress to reject them.

Sincerely,

Agricultural Retailers Association

Air Conditioning Contractors of America

American Council of Engineering Companies

American Farm Bureau Federation

American Financial Services Association

American Foundry Society

American Hotel & Lodging Association

American International Automobile Dealers Association

American Lighting Association

American Mold Builders Association

American Pipeline Contractors Association

American Supply Association

Asian American Hotel Owners Association

Associated Builders and Contractors

Associated Equipment Distributors

Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry

Auto Care Association

Coalition of Franchisee Associations

Construction Industry Round Table

Customized Logistics and Delivery Association

Distribution Contractors Association

Energy Marketers of America

Family Business Coalition

Financial Executives International

FMI — the Food Industry Association

Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association

Foundry Association of Michigan

Franchise Business Services

GAWDA

Glass Packaging Institute (GPI)

Global Cold Chain Alliance

Heating, Air-conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors International

ICSC

Independent Bakers Association

Independent Community Bankers of America

Independent Electrical Contractors

Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America

Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association

Indiana Cast Metals Association

Industrial Fasteners Institute

International Association of Plastics Distribution

International Foodservice Distributors Association

International Franchise Association

International Sign Association

International Warehouse Logistics Association

Irrigation Association

Main Street Employers Coalition

Manufactured Housing Institute

Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association

Metalcasters of Minnesota

Metals Service Center Institute

National Apartment Association

National Association of Convenience Stores

National Association of Electrical Distributors

National Association of Home Builders

National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors

National Association of Professional Insurance Agents

National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers

National Association of Truckstops Operators

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors

National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA)

National Beer Wholesalers Association

National Cattlemen's Beef Association

National Confectioners Association

NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL

National Electrical Contractors Association

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURERS REPRESENTATIVES ASSOCIATION (NEMRA)

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

National Franchisee Association

National Grocers Association

National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA)

National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association

National Marine Distributors Associations

National Multifamily Housing Council

National Onion Association

National Propane Gas Association

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association

National Roofing Contractors Association

National RV Dealers Assoc (RVDA)

National Small Business Association

National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association

National Tooling and Machining Association

National Utility Contractors Association

National Waste & Recycling Association

North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM)

North American Die Casting Association

Ohio Cast Metals Association

Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association

Petroleum Equipment Institute (PEI)

Plastics Industry Association

Plastics Pipe Institute

Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association

Policy and Taxation Group

Power and Communication Contractors Association

Precision Machined Products Association

Precision Metalforming Association

PRINTING United Alliance

Real Estate Roundtable

Reserve Organization of America (ROA)

Retail Bakers of America

S Corporation Association

Service Station Dealers and Allied Trades

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS)

Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America

Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association

Specialty Equipment Market Association

Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance

Subchapter S Bank Association

Texas Cast Metals Association

The Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution

The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers

The Hardwood Federation

The Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association

Tile Roofing Industry Alliance

Tire Industry Association

Truck Renting and Leasing Association

USA Rice

Western Equipment Dealers Association

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America