Sound like a familiar statement from any small business owner here in the U.S.? Well, if the stars were ever aligned to see meaningful reform of this country’s regulatory system, the time is certainly now with a Republican-led Congress and White House. And for small businesses that saw eight years of dramatic regulatory expansion, it is time to stop the hemorrhaging. According to the National Small Business Association (NSBA), small businesses spend $12,000/year on average to comply with government regulations, with a start-up company having to spend more than $83k!
According to NSBA’s data, the two most troubling compliance areas are the federal tax code and the Affordable Care Act with 14 percent of owners of small businesses spending more than 20-hours per month trying to comply with federal regulations. For NACD’s members, whose average size is 26-employees and $26-million in sales, the numbers and compliance efforts are very real and continue to stunt growth for the backbone of the U.S. economy, America’s small businesses.
Thankfully, we are seeing some positive movement out of the White House and Congress to correct these disturbing trends. A few weeks back, President Trump signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to eliminate two regulations for every new rule they would like to issue. And so far, Congress has been busy on this front with a number of regulatory relief bills currently being considered. These include the Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2017, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2017 and the Regulatory Accountability Act.
But in this town, getting off to quick starts does not always translate into a successful and completed product. Leaders of both parties in Congress and this administration need to keep regulatory reform on the front burner this year, not something that fades and is promised to be dealt with in a couple of years. America’s small businesses need relief now from this country’s unnecessarily complex and burdensome regulatory framework. Allow small businesses, including NACD’s many family-run small businesses, to do what they do best, grow the U.S. economy with product ingenuity and provide new jobs.
I’m curious to hear directly from you all – how has overregulation over the past eight years impacted your business? What specific change are you hoping to see from this administration? Share in the comments below.