It's small businesses that need the help

McDonald's moving from Oak Brook to downtown Chicago generated headlines and hand-wringing, but in reality it is small businesses that drive the suburban economy. They account for half of all existing jobs and two-thirds of new jobs.

But small businesses in Illinois and across the country are struggling. According to a national poll of small business owners commissioned by the Job Creators Network, only one in five respondents plan to hire additional employees over the next year, and only one in four think it will be easier to do business in than the last. According to a variety of indicators, including business formation, small business optimism, and job creation, small businesses still haven't recovered from the Great Recession.

To address these struggles, this month I stood beside Laz Marquez, owner of La Huerta supermarket in St. Charles, to announce new tax legislation that would reduce the burden on these small business job creators. The Bring Small Businesses Back Tax Act would reduce the tax rate for pass-through small businesses to 10 percent on the first $150,000 of earnings and 20 percent on earnings between $150,000 and $1 million. This would allow these small businesses, which currently pay a marginal tax rate of 40 percent, to invest more money in hiring, expansion, and the community.

At a forum in McHenry last week, I heard firsthand the challenges facing Chicagoland small businesses. More than anything, overtaxation and the complicated tax code, which my bill also addresses, were cited as impediments to growth. The constituents I heard from support my bill. So do 82 percent of all Americans, according to a national poll.

Its passage can help bring small businesses, which don't get the headlines, and the local economy back.

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren

Plano

14th Congressional District