The National Federation of Independent Business gives legislators who support small businesses awards every two years
Since 2000, the year he was elected to the State House of Representatives, Rep. Glenn Anderson has received the Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The award recipients are graded on votes they take during the two-year legislative cycle that help or hurt small businesses. A lawmaker must have an 80 percent voting record or higher to secure the accolade. For the 2011-12 legislative cycle, 10 votes were counted as priority legislation for our state’s small employers.
“When people think of Washington state, they often times think of our large employers, however small businesses make up 98 percent of all employers in the state. They are the cornerstone to our economic well-being and their health determines the overall economic and job-creation health of our state,” said Anderson, R-Fall City. “Every time we vote on a measure that can help or upend small businesses, it matters. A single vote on policies that impact small businesses can mean the difference between slowly moving out of this recession, or charging out of it.”
According to a report authored this year by the United States Small Business Administration, small businesses totaled 532,162 in Washington in 2009. They represent 98.1 percent of all employers and employ 53.3 percent of the private-sector workforce.
According to NFIB/Washington State Director Patrick Connor, an NFIB National Small Business Poll showed 75 percent of small businesses are structured as pass?through entities (S corporations, limited liability companies, sole proprietorships or partnerships) that must pay tax on their business income at the individual rate. Most small businesses do not pay the corporate tax, he explained.
“I have worked tirelessly over the years to start a dialogue about how we create a competitive and simple business tax structure in Washington state,” Anderson said. “It’s hard to get traction to change the status quo when most of the organized special interest groups continue to advocate for tax hikes. The Legislature must get serious about addressing business taxes and regulations if we want to boost private-sector job creation in our state.”
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CONTACT: Bobbi Cussins, Public Information Officer, (360) 786-7252
