Kristie Arslan

President Obama is calling on Congress to raise taxes on the wealthy in a speech today, and he's using a clever example to describe it. Calling it the "Buffett Rule," he's calling for tax law changes to ensure the Warren Buffetts of the world don't pay a lower tax rate...

It has become a time-honored tradition for politicians to claim they're looking out for "Main Street, not Wall Street." Capitol Hill is littered with proposals that are supposed to help small businesses compete in the marketplace and the Obama Administration has made this kind of messaging a key plank in...

As President Obama readies his State of the Union address, news outlets are reporting that economic growth and taxation will be the focus of much of his remarks. According to these news reports, he will call for a "level playing field" in tax policy to ensure that the economic recovery...

There's no doubt that we face uncertain times with our economy. Unemployment levels are still high. The stock market has had a rollercoaster year. While Congress finally overcame its political bickering to pass a two-month extension of the payroll tax, it can't be motivated to act on other initiatives that...

As 2011 comes to a close, so does the payroll tax cut for millions of Americans. If Congress does not come to an agreement, we'll start out 2012 by paying higher taxes. This fact has a greater impact on the 22 million self-employed and micro-business owners who, in...

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday season, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction approaches a looming deadline: by November 23rd, the super committee must provide recommendations to Congress on how to reduce the federal debt by $1.5 trillion. In an open letter, the 22-million self-employed...

Let's face it: corporations are treated very differently than self-employed businesses in the U.S., especially when it comes to taxes. A corporation is able to write off the amount it pays for its employees' health insurance, lowering its taxable income. Self-employed business owners, on the other hand, are...

I think we can all agree that the tax code could be more fair for Americans who want to start their own small business. It's one of the pillars of the national self-employment initiative that I have been urging policymakers to adopt. One of the key...

Like a bad penny, glum news about the U.S. economy continues to turn up. Lawmakers just narrowly avoided a government shutdown...again and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently called the unemployment situation a "national crisis." Neither situation bodes well for the significant reform proposals that the super...

Washington is awash in rhetoric about the importance of America's small businesses as engines of economic recovery, but there is little to no action coming out of the policy arena to help these businesses actually fuel economic growth. Instead, they have been largely left out of the policy...

The nation's smallest businesses would like to send our encouragement as you roll up your sleeves to address our nation's debt challenges, including finding $1.5 trillion to cut from the federal budget. That's a big number and no small task - we are writing to ask that you keep the...

America's lawmakers are working frantically to craft a solution to the ballooning federal deficit and the rapidly approaching August 2 debt ceiling deadline. Tough decisions abound about whether to let the nation default on its debt, how to pay down the deficit if the debt ceiling is increased and whether...

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been struggling to stimulate the economy and put a definitive end to the Great Recession. These efforts have included sector-specific bailouts, cash for clunkers and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which helped some notable companies and stimulated some industry...

It is a sad, but true fact: health insurance is a luxury item for many small business owners, purchased when times are good and forsaken when times are lean. This is especially true for self-employed and micro-businesses -- our nation's smallest businesses. Thanks to a minor quirk in...

Getting our economy back on track depends on the success of our nation's small businesses. Critical measures enacted last year like the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act and the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts delivered much needed tax relief to small businesses, especially the...

The unemployment rate is now at its lowest level - 9.4 percent - in 19 months, despite millions of Americans who would like to go back to work. While this signals a move in the right direction, Americans have become accustomed to a monthly dose of bad news...

Congress has important work to finish before the 111th Congress comes to a close. Much of its agenda includes priorities that are critical to the nation's smallest businesses. While the recent passage of the Small Business Jobs Act was a major accomplishment, small businesses also need relief from onerous paperwork...

Members of the Senate decided today to put politics over progress by blocking movement on the Small Business Jobs Act (H.R. 5297) when it came up for a crucial procedural vote. Unless an agreement can be reached, the bill is likely to languish in the Senate.

The...

Found deep within the new health reform law is a little known provision that will increase tax regulation on all of America's businesses beginning in 2012. Who will be hardest hit? You got it...small business.

The IRS currently has a reporting requirement for businesses who hire independent contractors. If...

On the eve of expiration for a number of key small business tax deductions and with the Small Business Administration running out of funding for small business loans, the U.S. Senate finally wakes up and begins to pay attention to small business. The same sector of the business community they...