Schmidt Backs Legislation to Support Small Businesses

WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Congressman Derek Schmidt (KS-02) announced that he has cosponsored H.R. 703, the Main Street Tax Certainty Act. This legislation would support small businesses by extending a tax provision that allows them to deduct up to 20% of qualified income. Without Congressional action, this provision will expire at the end of the year.

As of 2023, Kansas was home to 256,287 small businesses, accounting for 99.1% of businesses in the state. These businesses employ roughly 600,000 Kansans, representing nearly half of the state’s working population.

“After four years of overbearing regulation and suffocating inflation, our small businesses need all the support they can get,” said Congressman Derek Schmidt. “By extending this pro-growth provision of the highly successful Tax Cuts and Job Acts, we’ll be providing our small businesses with a tax break that allows them to compete with larger corporations. I’m proud to join more than 150 of my colleagues in cosponsoring this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the House floor.”

The Main Street Tax Certainty Act is supported by more than 230 organizations, including the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers, Associated Builders and Contractors, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

BACKGROUND

Originally introduced by Congressman Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), H.R. 703 would permanently extend Section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code, which was adopted as part of the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Section 199A allows up to a 20 percent pass-through income deduction for small businesses organized as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, or estates, or income from qualified REIT dividends and income from publicly traded partnerships.

A recent study found that 2.6 million jobs and $325 billion of the GDP are supported by the Section 199A deduction.

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