Small business owners urge lawmakers to pass a responsible budget and ensure a fair tax system for Main Street


The Honorable Mike Johnson,

Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
568 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, D.C., 20515

The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries,
House Democratic Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
2433 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C., 20515

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Senate Majority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C., 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader
U.S Senate
317 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C., 20510

Dear Speaker Johnson, House Democratic Leader Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Schumer, and Senate Republican Leader McConnell: 

We write to you today to express our concern, as business owners, regarding the impending budget deadline to fully fund the government through the current fiscal year. As business owners, leaders, and advocates, we continue to be deeply concerned about the efforts to further rescind IRS modernization funding. 

The Inflation Reduction Act provided crucial funding to support the complete modernization of the IRS’s human and technological infrastructure, a move that has and will greatly benefit small businesses across the nation. However, unfortunately, some lawmakers and their allies have used this investment as a way to spread fear and misrepresent the impact this investment would have on small businesses and law abiding taxpayers. Contrary to claims, this funding would not result in more audits for the middle-class and small businesses. Instead, it is meant to provide the IRS with the additional staff and technology required to ensure that the IRS is able to ensure law abiding taxpayers receive prompt and accurate customer service, while also more efficiently processing returns and refunds. 

We can already see meaningful progress being made. Through the end of 2023 filing season, the IRS answered 3 million more calls, cut phone wait times from 28 minutes to 3 minutes and served 140,000 more taxpayers in-person than during the prior year. 

A recent survey conducted by Small Business for America’s Future makes it clear that a significant majority of entrepreneurs – 62% – want to see the IRS make these kinds of improvements in service and responsiveness to small businesses. Furthermore, 63% support the decade-long investments proposed by the Inflation Reduction Act to improve and modernize the IRS. These statistics highlight the small business community’s recognition that the agency needs to improve in order to better serve Main Street entrepreneurs and that failure to do so would be detrimental. 

As small business owners, we understand the complexities of navigating the tax landscape. The modernization of the IRS promised by this funding is not just an administrative upgrade; it is a necessity for ensuring that small businesses are not disproportionately burdened in a system that favors the financially powerful large corporations. 

Rescinding this funding would not only maintain but exacerbate the current inequities in our tax system. It would leave small businesses without the necessary support and make it more challenging for us to comply with our tax obligations. This is not just a matter of funding but a matter of fairness and justice in our tax system.

We urge you to consider the implications of rescinding this funding and the detrimental impact it would have on small businesses. We need a tax system that works for all, not just the few, and the modernization of the IRS is a critical step towards achieving this goal.

Sincerely,

Small Business For America’s Future 

Amin Ezzy Ahmed, Khwarizm Consulting, LLC., East Brunswick, NJ

Jenay Aiksnoras, Bliss Experiences & Lake Tahoe Yoga, Zephyr Cove, NV

Isaias Alezones, 365 Productions, Inc., Gilbertown, AL

Marina Amaral, Sugar Emporium, LLC., Mason, OH

Price Arredondo, PACo Advisory, San Antonio, TX

Karen Barker, Om Thang Yoga & Wellness, Mays Landing, NJ

Jerome Bell, Sr. , ExpressTax Professionals, Fayetteville, NC

Dave Bergeron, Art Works Auto, LLC., University Place, WA

Valerie Bernard, Executive Training Centers, Inc., Point Pleasant, WV

Tony Bianchi, East West Holdings RegionalCenter, LLC., Chicago, IL

Eric Blackledge, National Small Business Network, Saint Petersburg, FL

Karri Blackmon, Habitat Assessment and Restoration Program, Inc., Lexington, NC

James Bradford III, Kingdom Athletics, Saint Paul, MN

Lea Ann Branham, Wynsor, LLC., Broken Arrow, OK

Daphne Bridges, Faith Enterprise, Incorporated, Mint Hill, NC

Janet Brugger, JBrugger Consulting, LLC., Colorado Springs, CO

Christine Buckley, CB Consulting, Lacey, WA

Jessica Butschie, J&J Cleaning Services, Cincinnati, OH

Tess Cahigas, Seniors 2000 Health and Activities Centers, San Antonio, TX

Nick Callazzo, Resource Specialists, Townsend, DE

David Chavez, Vez Guitar Academy, Alhambra, CA

Tiffonya Cureton, Tacos Ole', Lancaster, SC

Jacobie Dardy, Lees Community Service Group, West Point, GA

Ashok Dhariwal, YogaFit Studios, Edina, MN

Roland Dixon, Special Power Sources, Alliance, OH

Tracy Doebler, Claremont BioSolutions, LLC., Upland, CA

Baldur Dujmovits, Radcore, LLC., Syosset, NY

Conchie Fernandez, CF Creative, Pompano Beach, FL

Paula C Fiscal, San Francisco Investment Development, San Francisco, CA

Lynn Fisher, Applied Technology Academy, Deerfield Beach, FL

Pradeep Kumar Gohil, World Micro Stock Vinimay USA, LLC., Albany, NY

Todd Hamblin, Global Aerospace Design Corp, Cincinnati, OH

Jeffrey Harty, Harlo Wholesale Lighting, Inc., Jersey City, NJ

Tierra Henderson, iFinancial by Tierra, LLC., Henrico, VA

Edwin Iwo, Wot Group, Inc., Macon, GA

Rebecca James, Abovo, LLC., Prairie Village, KS

Sherimane Johnson, Night Owl Vegan, Greenbelt, MD

Michael Evan Johnson, S.W.I.D.E Effects, LLC., Tuskegee, AL

Carlton Johnson, PhD. , Spectrix Metaphysical Institute, Ltd. Co., Clarkston, GA

Jenny Jones, InfoSurf Consulting, North Bend, OR

Tomeca Kellogg-Walters, Kellogg Virtual Business Solutions, Powder Springs, GA

Frank Knapp, South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Columbia, SC

Rebecca Koontz, Bush Crane, Inc., Morrisville, NY

Sharon Kotsonas, OneSource Shipping & Printing, Gilbert, AZ

Suresh Kumar, The Indus Entrepreneur, Monroe Township, NJ

Dumas Lafomtant, Abarigani, Boston, MA

Todd Larson, Todd Larson Consulting, North Little Rock, AR

Rhonda Layton-Jones, RJ, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Devotis Lee, D Cafe, LLC., Atlanta, GA

Alphons Lemanya, Collinsnazzy International Corporation, Roosevelt, NY

Vernon Long, CMB Network, LLC., Burlington, NJ

Jean Lowe, Wellingtons Cafe and Catering, Charleston, WV

Yan Luo, Starlite, Inc., Pasadena, CA

Catherine Massey, LawDocs Ventures dba LawDocsXpress, Atlanta, GA

Shawne McIlwain, Qwestar, LLC., Gastonia, NC

Bonnie McLean, Spirit Gate Medicine, Pensacola, FL

Sherrie McNeely, East Coast MWS Empire, LLC., Glen Allen, VA

Gregory Mull, KGS Plants, Shelby, NC

Ajay Nash, Unlimited Dollar Store, LLC., Plainfield, NJ

David Negrete, Negrete & Kolar Architects, LLP., Austin, TX

Anne O'Neil, AOC Systems Consortium, New York, NY

Heidi Pickman, CAMEO-CA Association for Microenterprise Opportunity, Oakland, CA

Elaine Rigsby, Elaine Rigsby Professional, LLC., Redford, MI

Anita Roberson, Botanical Bites & Provisions, LLC., Fredericksburg, VA

Cos Roberts, UrbanTech Systems, Seattle, WA

Sharon Robinson, Robinson Business Service, Daphne, AL

Martha Robles, I-CAM Industries, Inc., Wildomar, CA

Sian Rose, Whats Cooking LLC, Harrisburg, PA

Christine Scaglione, nXgen solutions, Ormond Beach, FL

Masaru Torito, Kokoro Restaurant, Denver, CO

Chantel Vicks, Vicks Consulting Services, LLC., Westwego, LA

David Ward, Safe Site Check In, LLC., Portland, OR

Richard Weast, Abovo, LLC., Mission Hills, KS

Maximilian Weiner, Resilient, New York, NY

Willie White, Good Shepherd Writing and Publishing, LLC., Redford, MI

Charlie Woolley, St Charles Town Company, Denver, CO

Bradley Young, Triple Y, LLC., Liverpool, NY

Anne Zimmerman, Zimmerman & Co. CPAs, Cincinnati, OH