10.10.17

Hoeven Brings Together Grand Forks Small Bsuinesses to Outline Tax Reform Priorities

Senator Continues Tax Reform Roundtables, Advancing Tax Relief for Individuals, Families, Small Businesses, Farmers & Ranchers

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today brought together small business leaders in Grand Forks for a roundtable discussion on tax reform and to outline his priorities, including reducing the tax burden for individuals, families, farmers, ranchers and small businesses. The senator highlighted the tax reform principles included in the recently released framework and gathered input from business leaders.

“Everyone feels the burden of our current tax code, but the costs of compliance fall most heavily on small businesses,” Hoeven said. “Tax relief would help our local entrepreneurs and small businesses continue to compete, and considering their tremendous role in our economy, this would empower sustained growth. Further, by freeing up capital and increasing the demand for labor, tax reform is an opportunity to both boost wages and allow our workers to keep more of their paycheck, contributing to their long-term financial well-being and further strengthening the economy.”   

North Dakota has nearly 71,000 small businesses that make up 95.8 percent of all employers in the state. For these small businesses, nearly 30,000 of whom are family farmers and ranchers, the marginal tax rate can reach as high as 44.6 percent - nearly twice the average rate of the rest of the industrialized world.

The senator’s priorities on tax reform are to reduce costs for families and businesses by simplifying the code, bringing down rates and broadening the tax base to ensure stable revenues. This will allow continued funding for the nation’s priorities while increasing government revenues over the long run through efficiency and economic growth.

Specifically, Hoeven outlined highlights of the tax reform framework for small businesses including:

  • • Creating a new lower tax rate and structure for small businesses
    • The framework limits the maximum tax rate for small and family-owned businesses to 25 percent.
  • Expensing of capital investments
    • The framework allows, for at least five years, businesses to expense, or write off, the cost of new investments. This will benefit small businesses, including the state’s farmers and ranchers.

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