Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Small businesses looking for bigger voice in state

Small-business owners may not employ the majority of the state's workers, but they far surpass the number of big businesses in terms of the number of firms and they're hoping that won't go unnoticed during the upcoming legislative session.

The National Federation of Independent Business, which represents about 2,200 businesses in Nevada, wants its members' voices heard on taxes -- property and payroll -- and health benefits.

Small-business owners want payroll tax relief such as an exemption for a certain number of employees or a cap on the wages taxed, NFIB Nevada director Randy Robison said.

Some small-business owners are delaying expansions until their revenue is up because of the payroll tax, he said.

NFIB members also want a cap or some other remedy on property taxes, which continue to escalate, Robison said, adding that members are against splitting the tax rolls so that businesses pay a higher property tax rate rate than homeowners.

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, which represents many small businesses, is also monitoring tax proposals, especially property taxes.

"It is a much more complicated endeavor than most people assume it is," said Kara Kelley, president/chief executive of the chamber. "One of the things we are adamantly against is splitting tax rolls."

Changing the property-tax structure would require an amendment to the state's constitution.

The chamber is also monitoring the state budget proposal.

"We're very interested in the anticipated surplus and what the governor and the legislature plans to do with that," Kelley said. "We want to make sure the taxpayer money is being spent as prudently and soundly as it should be."

She said the chamber opposes plans that would create new government programs with the surplus because there would likely not be enough money to fund it in subsequent years.

Health insurance is another hot topic on the minds of small-business owners, locally and nationally.

Health savings accounts, which were introduced nationally last year, enable employees to put away tax-free money for health care costs. The accounts enable employees to pay for health, dental and vision costs and generally operate in conjunction with a high-deductible insurance plan to cover catastrophic problems.

Small-business groups such as NFIB want Congress and states to pass bills that would allow national association health plans -- that could pool members across state lines to increase buying power -- as an alternative to traditional plans, which often have numerous mandated benefits that can increase premium costs.

NFIB and other small-business advocates have pushed for association health plans before, but the idea failed to make it through the Legislature.

"We're convinced there's enough growth (in population) and growth in costs to give it another run," Robison said.

Business owners receive a tax credit for offering health insurance, but "small-business folks typically have a difficult time offering the kind of benefits that offset the tax," Robison said.

In September, Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt and the Nevada Commission on Economic Development released a study of 393 small-business owners' concerns and they mirrored what NFIB and the Las Vegas Chamber say their members want.

Survey respondents said they wanted a cap on the payroll tax and limits on government business fees and workers' compensation. They also said they wanted to pool together to purchase health care through associations and wanted access to more barebones health plans that had fewer mandated benefits.

"If the legislators know these issues are out there it helps them to tackle them," said Michael Hull, regional advocate for the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Hull represents small-business owners' interests in Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, California and Guam.

Many of Nevada's concerns are being echoed by small-business owners in other parts of the country, especially with regard to health care, Hull said.

He said health savings accounts are a step in the right direction and the approval of national association health plans would be even better.

One thing Nevada small-business owners have going for them is that they are protected by the Nevada regulatory flexibility act, which requires all state agencies to look at the economic impact on small businesses before passing regulations.

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