WASHINGTON - In an open letter to President George W. Bush and U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, the Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) joined several other small business organizations to urge the presidential candidates to help small businesses continue to grow and create jobs by not raising taxes on any small business taxpayers, and agree that small business taxpayers should not have to pay tax rates higher than those paid by big corporations. The open letter has been delivered to both campaigns.

"Tax relief and incentives passed by the U.S. Congress certainly helped many small firms survive the recession and post 9-11 period. These important relief measures have been long sought after by the small business community. Efforts to increase the individual tax rate or roll back increases in Section 179 expensing would raise taxes on small businesses, slowing job creation and stifling innovation," wrote the signatories of the letter.

In addition to the Small Business Survival Committee, other signatories to the letter included the National Association for the Self-Employed, National Federation of Independent Businesses, National Small Business Association, National Black Chamber of Commerce, and Women Impacting Public Policy.

According to the letter, small business owners' needs from government "have been simple and straightforward over the years - they wish to be self-reliant by accessing their own resources to reinvest in their businesses and provide competitive benefits and pay for their employees."

Publication date: 10/04/2004