Strategies: Going beyond 'Joe the Plumber'
— -- This week, I intended to write my election-year evaluation of the presidential candidates and small-business issues. When, wham! Suddenly a guy named "Joe the Plumber" — a guy from Toledo, Ohio, who hopes to buy his boss's business one day — entered the arena.
Joe took center stage during the final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama to discuss how small businesses will fare under the policies of each, and the McCain campaign repeatedly refers to "Joe the Plumber" in stump speeches.
Please — please! — don't have Joe or his boss represent small business. You see, it turns out Joe isn't licensed in Ohio, and it appears his boss is violating the law by employing Joe. Joe has a lien against him for failure to pay income tax. Oh, and by the way, the company he works for has an "Unsatisfactory" rating from the Toledo Better Business Bureau. (Disclosure: my company, The Planning Shop, publishes the Better Business Bureau books). Hey, we've all run up against this kind of competitor — the guy across town who hires unlicensed or unqualified workers, then we have to explain to a customer or prospect why our prices are higher.
Most small-business people — the backbone of this economy obey the law, pay our taxes, create good jobs and compete fairly.
So, move over, Joe. And let those of us who run honest small businesses hear what the candidates are going to do for us. I've taken the issues most of us care about, reviewed the candidates' official positions, what they've said in speeches, and have come up with a very abbreviated analysis below:
Taxes:
• McCain:Lower corporate taxes from 35% to 25% — or taxes on companies organized as "C" corporations. Taxes on "S" corporations or limited liability companies, or LLCs, would remain the same, since the taxes are "passed through" to owners' returns. Phase out the Alternative Minimum Tax. Ban Internet taxes. Allow first-year "expensing" of large purchases. Make permanent a 10% Research & Development tax credit.
