Jeffrey A. Setaro

Political & Cultural Commentary from a Constitutional Conservative.

Steny Hoyer: Idiot

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From CNSNews.com (emphasis mine):

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that job growth and economic recovery would not be harmed by a Democratic plan to increase income taxes by $540 billion to pay for their health-care reform proposal because the tax hikes would not affect small businesses.

Hoyer also said he could not think of any small business owners who make enough money to qualify for the higher taxes.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Hoyer said that the proposed tax was merely a surcharge on wealthy individuals, explaining that the tax increases were graduated.

“This is a surcharge,” Hoyer said, “on people making over $280,000 as an individual, $350,000 [per year] as a couple and it’s graduated, it goes up as you reach $1 million in income.”

Asked by CNSNews.com whether such a tax increase would affect small businesses and job creation during a recession, Hoyer said: “I don’t know many small business men or women who are making, themselves $280,000 [per year], so I’m not sure that very many small businesses are going to be affected by this.”

With all due respect Congressman you’re wrong. I’d suggest you take a look at the Small Business Administration’s Size Standards which defines small business as follows:

A small business is an concern that is organized for profit, with a place of business in the United States, and which operates primarily within the United States or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor.  Further, the concern cannot be dominant in its field, on a national basis.  Finally, the concern must meet the numerical small business size standard for its industry.  SBA has established a size standard for most industries in the U.S. economy.  The most common size standards are as follow:

  • 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries
  • 100 employees for all wholesale trade industries
  • $6.5 million for most retail and service industries
  • $31 million for most general & heavy construction industries
  • $13 million for all special trade contractors
  • $0.75 million for most agricultural industries

About one-fourth of industries have a size standard that is different from these levels.  They vary from $0.75 million to $32.5 million for size standards based on average annual revenues and from 100 to 1500 employees for size standards based on number of employees.  Several SBA programs have either alternative or unique size standards, such as the Small Business Investment Company Program.

In other words Congressman small businesses aren’t all mom and pop operations. many of them employ hundreds of people and earn significantly more $280.000 in income. The bottom line congressman is that many of these, not so, small businesses file their taxes as subchapter-S corporations or ‘sole proprietors’ and the $540 billion in new taxes you and your colleagues are proposing will ultimately result in slower economic growth and a loss of jobs.

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