|
In today’s challenging economy, small businesses face ever more threats against their ability to survive, thrive and prosper. Small business owners are decidedly more pessimistic, according to a survey conducted in 2008 by the National Federation of Independent Business.
Cited in the survey as problems of greatest concern for small business owners are costs of health insurance and energy, the overall burden of “generic taxes,” federal taxes on business income, property taxes, and unreasonable government regulations.
Small businesses – those with fewer than 10 employees – may seem to be targeted by elected officials because they are the largest segment of society earning money. When federal, state and local governments try to balance budgets, the small business owner may be viewed as a place to relieve the burden.
REALTORS® as independent contractors and REALTOR® firms as LLCs or corporations are chiefly small businesses trying to make a living and maintain a profit margin to sustain operations. The survival of these small businesses will likely depend upon tax relief, federal and state efforts to curb the rising cost of health insurance and assistance with complexities of increased government regulations and taxation.
So, where do we start to protect our small business operations?
1) I believe there is no substitute for one citizen’s involvement in government. We should educate ourselves on the issues; become more involved in the process; learn the background of the candidates; answer the “Calls to Action” from our state and national associations; and exercise the right to vote.
2) Join and become active in a political party that best supports our own tenets.
3) Support the REALTOR® Party through volunteerism and Political Survival Fund (PSF) donations. It is through collective effort that our voices are heard more loudly in the halls of every level of government. As a group, we have been successful in preventing banks from entering the real estate profession, in cutting taxation by keeping the mortgage interest deduction, and in staying ahead in the efforts to mandate a statewide tax on the transfer of real estate, to name a few.
Whether you choose to actively participate or not, government has the potential to impact your small business. You have the freedom to get involved and be a part of a solution or to stand back to see what happens. It is my belief that “if real estate is your business, then politics is your profession.”
|
