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Issue Briefs '25-'26

At the beginning of each new session of Congress, NSBA members gather to hear from thought leaders on countless issues facing small business, and then discuss, debate and ultimately vote on the organization’s Top 10 Priority Issues for the coming two years.

Top 10 Priority Issues Only Off

Expiring Tax Provisions Taxation

With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), Congress chose to make many of the individual provisions temporary to limit the revenue cost of the TCJA to a level consistent with the overall constraint on the 10-year revenue loss in the Congressional Budget Resolution.

Rein in the Costs of Health Care HHR

The Small-Business community needs substantial relief from health care costs. Over the last two decades, health care costs have been steadily increasing and, absent reform, will continue to do so at an unsustainable pace.

Trade Regulations ERA

Supply chain resiliency and Small-Business exporting must be a priority to support opportunities for Small Business to engage and lead trade.

Data Privacy Regulations ERA

In an increasingly digital world, governments globally at all levels are enacting internet privacy rules proving to be complex and burdensome, particularly for many Small Businesses.

Artificial Intelligence ERA

Many Small-Business owners have expressed concern that technology regulations could harm their businesses and reported that their businesses would face challenges complying with proposed AI regulations at the state level.

Political Reform ERA

As a result of growing partisanship, Congress is not doing the job it was elected to do.

Immigration Reform HHR

Small-Business owners stand to be significantly impacted by various broad immigration reform proposals, specifically as they relate to availability of workers and compliance with new and/or existing rules and regulations.

Fair Union Elections HHR

There are a number of policy initiatives being considered by Congress and the agencies that are designed to promote increased unionization.

Minimum Wage HHR

Small Businesses, ravaged by a sluggish economy and lingering effects of the pandemic, are struggling to keep their doors open and keep employees on payroll.

OSHA Regulations HHR

With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers.

Flexible Scheduling HHR

Small-Business owners, as well as their employees, are faced with the challenging task of juggling their personal lives with their careers.

Overtime Regulations HHR

In 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule that made it so salaried workers earning less than $35,568 annually would automatically be owed overtime pay.

Paid Family Leave HHR

In recent years, the issue of paid family leave has garnered attention from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Pension Reform & Simplification HHR

When a Small-Business owner is considering his or her retirement needs and those of his employees, there are myriad different plans to consider with countless requirements and stipulations.

Improve Workforce Training HHR

A Small Business that makes good hiring decisions tends to have higher productivity and lower turnover, which positively affects the bottom line.

Reinstate R&D Deduction Taxation

Starting in 2022, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) requires businesses to amortize Research and Development (R&D) expenses over a five-year period.

Tax Reform Taxation

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) which was enacted late-2017 is now in effect, but key portions of it are only temporary - specifically those that help the majority of America’s Small Businesses.

Tax Gap Taxation

Reducing the so-called tax gap has long been proposed as one way of increasing federal revenues without increasing tax rates.

Interstate Sales Tax Taxation

E-commerce provides businesses with access to much larger markets, but it also complicates even the simplest of retail transactions.

Deficit Reduction and Entitlement Reform Taxation

Despite some short-term improvements made in recent years, long-term debt challenges remain, and in the coming decades, the debt will squeeze budgetary resources that are vital to our economic success and competitiveness will be stymied.

Fair Tax Taxation

The current federal income tax system is broken—unfair, overly complex, and almost impossible for most Americans to understand.