The Washington Times has published an op-ed by small business owner Alison Couch, president of Ignite Accounting & Business Advisor, an NFIB member business in Columbia County, Ga..

Couch writes that Congress needs to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent and reduce regulatory burdens on Main Street.

She writes:

“I have practiced public accounting for 21 years and can tell you without doubt that the 20% Small Business Deduction has been the single most beneficial tax deduction for small business owners.

“This is the message I personally delivered to Congress as someone who works with true American small business owners every day. My own small business, Ignite Accounting & Business Advisors, is an accounting firm based in Columbia County, Georgia where my small-but-mighty team nurtures other small businesses. We’re talking about coffee shops, ice cream shops, restaurants, professional service business owners – the real heartbeat of the American economy.

“As we get closer to critical parts of the 2017 tax cuts expiring at the end of this year, my clients lack the certainty of whether or not many of the provisions they depend upon will be extended. This includes the 20% Small Business Deduction – the centerpiece of the 2017 tax cuts – which allows for a 20% deduction of qualified business income. The tax burden on small businesses is already incredibly heavy and allowing the Small Business Deduction to lapse would not feel like a sunset, but like a tax increase.”

On Jan. 14, Couch testified before the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee in a hearing titled, “Hearing on The Need to Make Permanent the Trump Tax Cuts for Working Families.” Couch spoke on the advantages of the 20% Small Business Deduction for Main Street businesses like her own and those she services.

The 20% Small Business Deduction was created as a part of the 2017 tax law to level the playing field between small businesses and larger corporations. If Congress fails to act, taxes will increase on over 30 million small businesses at the end of 2025. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make the Small Business Deduction permanent and avoid a massive tax hike on a majority of America’s small businesses.

Read the full op-ed here.