A Q&A WITH CHAIRMAN JASON SMITH

Representative Jason Smith (R-MO) serves as the Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. As Congress continues working on the budget reconciliation bill to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Chairman Smith and his committee are leading the charge. He spoke with PEO Insider ® to share a little about his background, policy goals and explain why this legislation is so important for small businesses.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO).

PEO Insider ®: Can you share with our members a little bit about your background as a small business owner?

Chairman Smith: I’m a 7th generation Missourian, and a 4th generation owner of my family farm that I purchased when I was in law school – something I would not have been able to do today under the current regulatory framework and state of the American economy. That experience has taught me what it takes to start, grow, and expand a small business, and as Ways and Means Chairman I am focused on delivering policies that create an environment with less regulation and more opportunity that allows small businesses to thrive.

PEO Insider ®: What motivated you to get involved with public service and run for Congress?

Chairman Smith: Like many who serve, I saw that the laws and policies coming out of Washington were harming the well-being of the working families, farmers, small businesses, and communities in my state. That recognition that change was needed to ensure a brighter, more prosperous future for the people of Missouri led me first to the State House and then to Congress.

PEO Insider ®: As the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee you’re one of Washington, D.C.’s most influential policymakers. What are your main policy goals and priorities?

Chairman Smith: My biggest priority right now is delivering on President Trump’s campaign promises that more than 77 million Americans voted for. The 2017 Trump tax cuts were incredibly successful, and we can build off the success of that law with new policies to further benefit working class Americans, small businesses, and farmers while protecting the American people from a higher tax burden. Delivering pro-growth, pro-worker tax policy like no tax on tips and overtime, tax relief for seniors, securing and restoring tax relief for small businesses, and incentives for domestic manufacturing is my biggest priority.

PEO Insider ®: As the budget reconciliation process heats up, can you explain why extending TCJA is so important to American taxpayers?

Chairman Smith: Extending the Trump tax cuts will fuel significant economic growth and prosperity. Just protecting the 20 percent small business deduction alone will create 1 million new jobs, and American manufacturers will generate $284 billion in new economic growth. But if Congress does nothing, and allows the Trump tax cuts to expire, the average taxpayer will see a 22 precent tax hike, 6 million jobs will be lost, 40 million families would see their child tax credit slashed in half, and 2 million family farmers would see their Death Tax exemption cut in half.

PEO Insider ®: Our members represent small businesses across the country. As a fellow small business operator, can you explain how the budget reconciliation framework (as it stands now) will impact small businesses?

Chairman Smith: The tax provisions in this reconciliation bill are all proven, pro-growth policies that will incentivize small businesses to expand, to invest, and to hire more workers. The track record of the 2017 tax cuts is impossible to dispute. Workers’ wages grew at the fastest rate in 20 years; GDP growth was a full percentage point higher than the Congressional Budget Office’s pre-TCJA forecast; and real median household income rose by $5,000 – a larger increase in just two years than in the prior eight years combined. Congress must act quickly to deliver on the president’s economic priorities and build on the success of the 2017 tax cuts.

PEO Insider ®: Can you share some insights about your committee’s work on IRS modernization? One obstacle our members continue to encounter with the IRS is slow, outdated and inefficient processes and technology like the required use of the fax machine.

Chairman Smith: Every member of Congress will tell you that the biggest complaint their constituents have is the IRS. One thing is clear: American taxpayers have not seen a return on investment from the billions of dollars that was pumped into the IRS by the previous administration. Any additional funding for the IRS should be focused towards improving customer service, not increasing audits on middle-class families. The Ways and Means Committee held a hearing earlier this year where we learned that only 31 percent of phone calls to the IRS were answered by a live human being during the last tax filing season. That is unacceptable. More must be done to improve efficiencies at the agency and to modernize and move on from antiquated systems. The IRS needs an overhaul to ensure it works for the American taxpayer, not the other way around.