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House Econ State Of Small Business

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Congressional materials
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House Econ State Of Small Business
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House Econ State Of Small Business

Summary

A slide presentation titled State of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) to the House Economic Competitiveness Committee, dated September 4, 2025, with contact details for NFIB's Michigan State Director. It describes NFIB, discusses how small businesses are defined, and reports that non-employer firms generated $1.7 trillion in economic activity in 2022. It presents Michigan data on firms and employment by size, stating that 47.7 % of Michigan employment is in firms under 500 employees, and lists the ten most severe problems from the 2024 NFIB Problems & Priorities survey. The final slides describe reforms from 2011-2018 and NFIB's proposals on taxes, regulation, labor and legal issues, including making an income tax cut to 4.05% permanent.

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STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS

House Economic Competitiveness Committee
           September 4, 2025
ABOUT NFIB
National Federation of Independent Business

          REPRESENTSMALL
          REPRSENT  SMALL&&IND
                             INDBUSINESSES
                                 BUSINESSESSINCE
                                             SINCE1943
                                                   1943

            REPRESENTATION IN DC AND STATE CAPITOLS
                            KEY POINT
         MEMBERS SET POLICIES/ONE MEMBER – ONE VOTE

      OVER 11,350 MEMBERS IN MICHIGAN/300,000 NATIONWIDE

               JOIN FOR FREE ENTERPRICE
                         FOUNDED IN 1943ADVOCACY

        MEMBERS IN ALL INDUSTRIES THROUGOUT THE STATE
                    @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom    2
ABOUT NFIB
Mission Statement

         REPRSENT SMALL & IND BUSINESSES SINCE 1943
           To promote and protect the rights
            of our members   to own, operate
                      KEY POINT
               and grow their businesses.

                            FOUNDED IN 1943


                    @NFIB     @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   3
    HOW DO YOU DEFINE SMALL BUSINESS?
    It Depends on Who you Ask!

The Small Business Act states that a small business
                                                          Small Business Administration (SBA) typically
concern is "one that is independently owned and               defines as less than 500 employees
operated and which is not dominant in its field of
operation." Title 13, Code of Federal Regulations,
part 121 (13 CFR 121).
                                                           State and Federal Statutes and Regulations
Over the years SBA has established and revised             have various defined definitions, normally
numerical definitions for all for-profit industries,      defined by number of employees eg: FMLA is
and this numerical definition is called a "size
                                                                    50 employees, ESTA is 10
standard." It is almost always stated either as the
number of employees or average annual receipts
of a business concern.



                                                  @NFIB    @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom                    4
NON-EMPLOYER FIRMS
Sole Proprietors, Independent
Contractors, Etc
The "non-employer" category (essentially self-                    Non-employer firms generated $1.7 trillion in
employed people). A non-employer firm is                          economic activity in 2022, representing
defined as one that has no paid employees,
                                                                  approximately 6.8% of the U.S. economy,
                                                                  according to the U.S. Census Bureau. These
has annual business receipts of $1,000 or more
                                                                  businesses are a growing segment of the
($1 or more in the construction industries), and
                                                                  overall economy, with their number growing
is subject to federal income taxes.                               at a faster rate than employer businesses
                                                                  between 2012 and 2023.
See the U.S. Census Bureau, Non-employer Statistics for more
detailed information.

                                           @NFIB          @NFIB   @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom                       5
MICHIGAN FIRMS
BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES



                                   Enterprise Size        Firms     %
                              Less than 100 employees     169,713   95.8%
                              100-499 employees             3,940    2.2%
                              500+ employees                3,587    2.0%




              @NFIB   @NFIB       @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom                     6
MICHIGAN EMPLOYMENT
BREAKDOWN BY EMPLOYEES




              @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   7
MICHIGAN EMPLOYMENT
47.7 % EMPLOYED BY FIRMS UNDER 500 EMPLOYEES




                               Enterprise Size             Employment      %
                       Less than 100
                                                               1,316,961   33.4%
                       employees
                       100-499 employees                         562,283   14.3%
                       500+ employees                          2,059,832   52.3%


               @NFIB   @NFIB      @NFIB      @NFIBdotcom                       8
MICHIGAN EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR
ALL EMPLOYMENT




TOP INDUSTRIES:
• MANUFACTURING
• RETAIL/TRADE
• ACCOMODATIONS/HOSPITALITY
• PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• CONSTRUCTION




                          @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   9
MICHIGAN EMPLOYMENT BY SECTOR
1-19 EMPLOYEES




TOP INDUSTRIES:
• MANUFACTURING
• RETAIL/TRADE
• ACCOMODATIONS/HOSPITALITY
• PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
• CONSTRUCTION




                          @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   10
MI EMPLOYMENT WITH NON-EMPLOYERS
56.6 % EMPLOYED BY FIRMS UNDER 500 EMPLOYEES




                 @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   11
 DO SMALL BUSINESSES PAY TAXES?

These funds are collected through the personal
income tax for pass-through entities and do not
appear in any fiscal analysis as “business taxes”,
despite the fact that they are.
                                                                 YES!
                                                             $843 MILLION in 2016


                                  @NFIB   @NFIB      @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom          12
MICHIGAN SMALL BUSINESS
FIRMS

    81%
 OF SMALL BUSINESSES ARE
ORGANIZED AS PASS-THROUGH
         ENTITIES
              According to 2020 US Census Data

                         @NFIB           @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   13
 WHO ARE NFIB MEMBERS?


      65%
                                        NON-EMPLOYERS 18%
                                        11-50 EMPLOYEES     14%
                                        51-100 EMPLOYEES    1%
                                        100+ EMPLOYEES      1%
OF NFIB MEMBERS HAVE BETWEEN
        1-10 EMPLOYEES


                    @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom         14
 2024 NFIB PROBLEMS & PRIORITIES
 10 MOST SEVERE PROBLEMS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS


1. Cost of Health Insurance               6. Cost of Natural Gas, Propane, Gasoline,

2. Cost of Supplies/Inventories           Diesel, Fuel Oil

3. Uncertainty over Economic              7. Unreasonable Government

Conditions                                Regulations

4. Federal Taxes on Business Income       8. Uncertainty over Government Actions

5. Locating Qualified Employees           9. State Taxes on Business Income and
                                          Electricity Cost (tied)
                          @NFIB   @NFIB     @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom                  15
 2024 NFIB PROBLEMS & PRIORITIES
 10 MOST SEVERE PROBLEMS FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS


1. Cost of Health Insurance               6. Cost of Natural Gas, Propane, Gasoline,

2. Cost of Supplies/Inventories           Diesel, Fuel Oil

3. Uncertainty over Economic              7. Unreasonable Government

Conditions                                Regulations

4. Federal Taxes on Business Income       8. Uncertainty over Government Actions

5. Locating Qualified Employees           9. State Taxes on Business Income and
                                          Electricity Cost (tied)
                          @NFIB   @NFIB     @NFIB     @NFIBdotcom                  16
SMALL BUSINESSES
Benefits and Challenges
BENEFITS
                                                       CHALLENGES
•   Employment is spread among many small
                                                       •    Have smaller margins to weather economic downturns
    businesses – less impact if business fails
                                                       •    Due to cash flow and costs, struggle to provide similar
•   Smaller employers/entrepreneurs are often               benefits as large corporations
    nimbler and more creative
                                                       •    Have less resources to be aware and adapt to new

•   Give back and are more intimately involved in           regulations and labor mandates

    their community
                                                       •    Unable to easily move their business if the state or local area
                                                            is unfavorable


                                        @NFIB       @NFIB        @NFIB         @NFIBdotcom                                    17
MICHIGAN’S SMALL BUSINESS CLIMATE
INTANGIBLES

        FEDERAL ACTIONS

        REGULATORY
        BALLOT PROPSALS

       JUDICIAL DECISIONS

     OTHER OUTSIDE FACTORS
                 @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   18
MICHIGAN’S SMALL BUSINESS
CLIMATE
       TAXES

    REGULATORY
     REGULATORY

       LABOR

       LEGAL
               @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   19
REFORMS THAT GOT RESULTS
2011-2018

 TAX/SPENDING                                             LABOR
 ▪   Eliminated the Michigan Business Tax and             ▪   Eliminated prevailing wage on state projects
     replaced it with the Corporate Tax                   ▪   Allowed for Workplace Freedom in private
 ▪   Reined in unnecessary spending                           industry
 ▪   Eliminated economic development “hand outs”          ▪   Preempted locals from creating a patchwork of
 ▪   Eliminated personal property tax on                      labor laws
     manufacturing                                        ▪   Passed common sense paid leave law
 ▪   Bonded $4 Billion in UI debt to eliminate            ▪   Workers Compensation reform
     federal penalties                                    ▪   Unemployment Insurance reform
                                                          LEGAL
 REGULATORY
                                                          ▪   Trespasser Liability
 ▪   Office of Regulatory Reform/Legislative              ▪   Wage Garnishment reform
     Initiative to remove outdated statutes
 ▪   Include limits to rule making authority in
     statute to limit power of unelected bureaucrats

                                      @NFIB       @NFIB       @NFIB       @NFIBdotcom                         20
HOW DO WE MOVE MICHIGAN
FORWARD?

 • DO NO HARM
 • REDUCE UNCERTAINTY
        @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   21
TAX
 FAIR AND LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
  ELIMINATE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX ON COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL
            REPRSENT SMALL & PROPERTY
                             IND BUSINESSES SINCE 1943

            MAKE INCOME TAXKEY POINT
                            CUT TO 4.05% PERMANENT

              STOP GIVING BILLIONS TO CORPORATIONS
REVIEW STATE OPERATIONS AND ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY AND DUPLICATIVE
                       AGENCIES/POSTITIONS
                         FOUNDED IN 1943
    SHRINK STATE SPENDING TO PREVENT THE NEED FOR FURTHER TAX
                            INCREASES
                     @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom            22
REGULATORY
BALANCED AND THOUGHTFUL REGULATIONS

  CONTINUE TO REIN IN
         REPRSENT     DEPARTMENT
                   SMALL          RULE MAKING
                          & IND BUSINESSES SINCEAUTHORITY
                                                 1943     AND
                 PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT
                           KEY POINT
PREVENT REGULATIONS FROM BEING STRICTER THAN FEDERAL WITHOUT
                      PROPER REASONING

  OVERTURN HARMFUL AND COSTLY ENERGY LEGISLATION FROM 2023
                     FOUNDED IN 1943


                   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom          23
LABOR
DON’T MAKE IT HARDER TO HIRE

         REPRSENT SMALL &WORKPLACE
                REINSTATE IND BUSINESSES SINCE 1943
                                     FREEDOM

 HOLD UIA ACCOUNTABLE FORKEY  POINT STATUTE AND SLOW DOWN
                          FOLLOWING
                      BENEFIT INCREASES

STOP ADDITONAL LABOR MANDATES AND PROVIDE A FULL EXMPTION FOR
                      FOUNDED IN 1943
                   SMALL BUSINESS FOR ESTA


                   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom          24
LABOR
DON’T MAKE IT HARDER TO HIRE
         REPRSENT SMALL &COMP
            KEEP WORKERS IND BUSINESSES
                              REFORMS INSINCE 1943
                                           PLACE

         REASONABLE REGS THAT PROMOTE YOUTH HIRES
                            KEY POINT
             STOP PASSING HEALTHCARE MANDATES

                          FOUNDED IN 1943



                  @NFIB     @NFIB   @NFIB   @NFIBdotcom   25
LEGAL
FIX WHAT THE COURT BROKE
REINSTATE SOME FORMSMALL
           REPRSENT OF “OPEN AND
                         & IND   OBVIOUS”SINCE
                               BUSINESSES FOR PREMISES
                                               1943    LIABILITY



                             KEY POINT
       PASS “LOSER PAYS” LEGISLATION FOR STATE DEPARTMENTS



 PROVIDE CLEAR LANGUAGEFOUNDED
                        OF LEGISLATIVE INTENT TO PREVENT COURT
                                 IN 1943
                            MISINTERPRETATION

                    @NFIB      @NFIB   @NFIB    @NFIBdotcom        26
      Amanda Fisher, Michigan State Director
           Amanda.fisher@NFIB.org


Data used in this presentation comes from the following sources
        Small Business Administration Date Resources
     US Census Bureau BDS (Business Dynamics Statistics)
       NFIB Research Foundation Problems & Priorities


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