Lawmakers making life even harder for small businesses
As the country continues to reopen and more Americans are getting vaccinated, things are starting to look a little more normal. We can once again go to a restaurant to eat a meal and shop at a mall - all things we spent months being unable to experience due to the COVID-19-led shutdowns. But while it may feel like things have improved, 2021 feels as difficult as ever for many small business owners and service providers.
Some of these costs are, of course, COVID-19-related. Many local businesses are still feeling the effects of the shutdowns last year. For those who survived, money remains tight. And while people are spending more and are again allowing service visitors into their homes, there's a long way to go for them to feel financially secure once again.
There are also new costs associated with running a small business today that didn't exist before 2020. Safety equipment to distance clients and employees, reorganized layouts, hand sanitizer, and more are now required. There's also the added pressure of maintaining a safe environment for everyone to avoid exposing a customer or employee to COVID-19. If this happens, there's also the risk of being sued. All in all, the pandemic brought major changes to both costs and liability for small business owners - something they'll be adjusting to for a long while.
Unfortunately, Illinois politicians seem to be either unaware of or unconcerned with these tremendous challenges facing small business owners. And rather than offering them support through this difficult time, certain lawmakers have pushed for legislation that will only worsen this burden.
These anti-business actions that threaten jobs gained steam in 2019 when Illinois lawmakers passed a phased-in minimum wage increase that will reach $15 an hour in a few years. Now at $11 an hour, the legislation increases the minimum wage $1 an hour each January until it reaches $15 an hour by 2025. All this while most of our neighboring states continue to honor the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. When taking into consideration the additional costs and burdens facing small business owners right now, it's clear many businesses simply can't afford these increases.
Additionally, Gov. Pritzker tried earlier this year to remove the tax benefits for Illinois small businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and instead implement a massive tax hike for these business owners who were in desperate need of help. The governor is now threatening to eliminate vital tax incentives for business owners that help maintain jobs, which he refers to as "corporate tax loopholes." Currently, Senate Bill 72 (SB 72), a piece of legislation that would unfairly punish businesses in the form of skyrocketed litigation costs, is sitting on Pritzker's desk awaiting his signature to become law. And while we can hope that perhaps he will change his ways and do what's best for small businesses and veto SB 72, Pritzker's streak of blatant anti-business behavior makes this possibility seem far-fetched at best.
Those of us in the business community should not have to remind Illinois lawmakers how important we are to the economy, particularly now as we continue to recover from the pandemic. It's discouraging to see our job creators ignored by lawmakers. It's even worse to watch them continue to push for legislation that will cost jobs. Unless we want to watch the economy continue to suffer, it's important lawmakers begin to reel back these anti-business efforts and instead promote legislation that will support local businesses in their time of need.
• Keith Battaglia, of Cary, is owner of Battaglia Industries in Arlington Heights,