Obama Consults Small Business Owners on Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

The White House administration was recently criticized for not including small business owners in a meeting with CEO’s regarding the fiscal cliff negotiations. While small business owners would most likely be directly impacted by a raise in the tax rate, many of the CEO’s in attendance at that meeting represented companies that pay almost no corporate taxes due to loop holes.

Dan Danner, President of the National Federation of Independent Business called the omission “an insult.”

In an attempt to assuage this perceived snub, President Obama on Tuesday sat down with small business owners from across the country to discuss their economic concerns and listen to their recommendations for avoiding the fast approaching “fiscal cliff.”

Of particular concern for small employers are the Bush-era tax cuts which would increase the effective tax rate on Americans making over $250,000. The impact of these tax cuts expiring has been widely disputed by business experts and policy makers. Several of the attendees were part of a group of 600 employers who recently signed a letter sent to the president supporting the elimination of the Bush-era tax cuts.

After the

meeting, Blanche Lincoln who is a former Democratic senator and now heads the NFIB’s Small Businesses for Sensible Regulation Coalition, said he was “encouraged to hear” that the president met with and listened to small business owners.

“For the sake of our economic future, our national leaders must work together to simplify and balance the federal regulatory process. We need greater transparency and insight into the process, accountability from Congress and the courts, and an environment that promotes sustained small business growth.”

This meeting is part of a larger public relations push by the Obama administration to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff” which could possibly jolt the nation back toward recession. The president now hopes to force his GOP rivals to agree to extend the Bush tax cuts for the middle class but allow them to expire for families earning more than $250,000 in net taxable income.