Small businesses occupy an iconic place in the public policy debate and benefit from a broad range of tax and spending subsidies. But the economic issues surrounding small businesses and innovation are complex and nuanced, and not well understood.  We are learning, however, that  if Congress wants to encourage risk-taking, it may be better off [...]

My Tax Policy Center colleague Eric Toder and I are mystified by how unRepublican the House GOP’s Small Business Tax Cut Act really is. Sure, cutting taxes for businesses and high-income individuals is very much part of the Republican playbook these days. But the mechanics of this one seem to fly in the face of [...]

In the politics of taxation, nothing may be more controversial than the hot-button issue of small business. But important new research by career staffers at the Treasury Department concludes that there are lots fewer of these firms than many think, they account for only about 17 percent of total business income, and  hire many fewer [...]

This morning I appeared at hearing of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee on “Small Businesses and Tax Reform.” My full testimony, “Tax Policy and Small Business,” is available here. My opening statement: America’s tax system is needlessly complex, economically harmful, and often unfair. Because of a plethora of [...]