Rockland County small business owner Brian Duffy welcomed U.S. Representative Mike Lawler to his family-run restaurant, Dee Maria’s, for a tour and discussion about the recent federal 20% Small Business Tax Deduction. The visit highlighted the significance of the tax relief measure, which Congress made permanent in July after months of debate.
Ashley Ranslow, New York State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), commented on the event: “Thanks to the leadership of Rep. Mike Lawler, Congress delivered permanent tax relief for small businesses in New York like Brian Duffy’s family-owned business. We are grateful Rep. Lawler spent the afternoon at Dee Maria’s with Brian Duffy and his employees, learning more about the daily operations of a Main Street business and the challenges small business owners like Brian face each day.”
Ranslow also emphasized the broader impact of supporting small businesses: “New York’s small businesses don’t just create jobs, they create opportunity and strong Main Street communities,” she said. “If Congress had allowed the Small Business Deduction to expire, the massive tax hike on New York’s small businesses would have stifled growth, put the brakes on hiring, and endangered countless small firms. Thankfully, Mike Lawler fought hard in Washington, D.C. and made certain this small business tax relief is preserved for New Yorkers and our communities in Rockland County and across the state.”
Earlier this year, NFIB released a report that detailed how making the Small Business Tax Deduction permanent would benefit New York’s economy. The report noted that if Congress had not acted, millions of small businesses in New York would have faced much higher taxes compared to larger corporations; specifically, while C-Corporations would have continued facing a combined federal and state tax rate of 28.25%, small businesses’ rates could have increased to 50.5%. With the deduction now permanent, projections suggest New York could see an average annual increase of 71,000 jobs over ten years and an annual GDP rise of $6.09 billion during that period.
