Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas As the 86th Legislative Session begins Tuesday NFIB Texas is in the process of sharing its top priorities with State Legislators and explaining to them in detail why these issues are important to virtually every small business across Texas. Small businesses not big business big labor or big government employ the majority of working Americans and generate almost all net new jobs.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is a member-governed organization that has approximately 20000 small business members in Texas.
We represent all economic sectors in the Lone Star State from manufacturing to wholesale-retail and services to construction and agriculture.
NFIBs main educational mission is to remind lawmakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of big businesses but instead have uniquely different difficulties in remaining solvent. NFIB has a unique member balloting process which ultimately creates our Legislative Agenda & Member Priorities. We are a One Member One Vote organization. NFIB Texas Top Session Priorities The NFIB Texas Legislative Agenda for the 86th Legislative Session was generated from the most recent 2018 NFIB Member Ballot which was sent to all 20000 of our Texas members. Here are the top recognized priorities for small business owners going into 2019 -- which Ill discuss in full during this 2-Part Series:- Property Tax & Franchise Tax Relief and Reform
- Reeling in Regulatory Overreach
- Labor Union Transparency
- Health Insurance Mandates & Burdensome Cost
- Workforce Development
Small business owners in Texas are being taxed out of their businesses (and homes) and are often hit even harder than a large business because they do not have in-house tax compliance officers. Their margins of operation are very thin leaving little to no room to keep their doors open after paying their property tax bill their inventory tax and their franchise tax bill (paid whether they made a profit for the year or not).
Small business owners will continue to ask the legislature to fully repeal the onerous franchise tax and at the least to pass another rate reduction.
NFIB will support fixing the school finance crises in Texas and easing the reliance on the property tax by capping revenue increases locally and allowing tax rates to decline while property values increase.
Reeling in Regulatory Overreach
Increasingly cities in Texas have been pressured by out-of-state labor unions to expand their regulatory scope by passing local ordinances regulating a private business owners employment practices. These city ordinances would mandate what kind of benefits an employer offers how to handle their employee scheduling and would interfere with private employment hiring practices among other business daily operations best left up to the employer.
This session NFIB is excited to be spearheading the effort at the Capitol to fight this overreach. Along with 17 other business organizations we have formed the coalition ASSETAlliance for Securing & Strengthening the Economy in Texas to preempt cities from passing ordinances that interfere with private employment practices.
Small businesses already implement hundreds of federal and state regulations which costs them 36 more than a larger business according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Now cities are creating more employment and labor regulations locally which in most cases differ from the set of standards set by federal or state government. These local ordinances create a patchwork of laws which makes compliance almost impossible for the small business owner. I hope you join me tomorrow as we detail the final three items on the NFIB Texas Legislative Agenda for the 86th Legislative Session as well as lay out the Top 10 Biggest Problems & Priorities for Texas Small Business according to our recent NFIB Member Poll. As State Director Annie Spilman directs NFIBs Texas efforts & member engagement at the State Capitol in Austin
as well as their political involvement throughout the state. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the nations leading small-business association and has the largest business organization in Texas.
