ASA Says No to Paring Down the 20% Business Deduction (Section 199A)

ASA joined several trade associations representing millions of individually- and family-owned businesses operating in every sector of the American economy in strong opposition to any reductions or repeal of the 20-percent deduction for qualified business income under Section 199A, including phasing out the deduction above certain income thresholds.   ASA maintains that Section 199A is an essential part of the tax code and without it, individually- and family-owned businesses would pay significantly higher taxes, putting them at a competitive disadvantage and accelerating the economic consolidation taking place in our economy.  To ensure the focus on job creation and investment, Section 199A limits the deduction for larger pass-through businesses to those that have significant employment and investment levels. If a large pass-through business does not create jobs and invest in its community, it does not get the deduction. Section 199A’s laser focus on real businesses with real employees helped motivate the introduction of bipartisan legislation (H.R. 1381 and S. 480) to make the deduction permanent.  Proposals to limit or repeal the deduction would hurt businesses and result in fewer jobs, lower wages, and less economic growth in thousands of communities across the country. For these reasons, ASA supports leaving the Section 199A deduction intact and we strongly oppose any attempt to cap or repeal it by Congress.