Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) has re-introduced the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 703), legislation which would permanently extend Section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code, which is slated to expire at the end of this year.
Smucker’s bipartisan legislation is cosponsored by 152 Members, representing two-thirds of the House Republican Conference, is supported by all Republican Members of the Ways and Means Committee, and is the most cosponsored tax bill introduced so far this session.
Section 199A, which was adopted as part of the landmark 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, allows for a 20 percent deduction of qualified income for pass-through businesses. Most small businesses are structured as a pass-through and this section was included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to promote equity in America’s tax code between small businesses on Main Street with larger corporations.
“When small businesses thrive, our communities thrive. Small businesses need predictability and making Section 199A permanent will provide Main Street with the certainty they need to invest in their workforce, operations, and community,” Smucker said. “This pro-growth policy will ensure small businesses maintain tax parity with larger corporations. As Congress works with the Trump administration to renew expiring provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, I will continue to fight for Section 199A and tax policies to support small businesses and families.”
The Main Street Tax Certainty Act is supported by more than 230 organizations, including Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers, Associated Builders and Contractors, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Section 199A allows up to a 20 percent pass-through income deduction for small businesses organized as sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, or estates, or income from qualified REIT dividends and income from publicly traded partnerships.
A recent study from Ernst and Young found that 2.6 million jobs and $325 billion of the GDP are supported by the Section 199A deduction.
A 2023 study from the S Corporation Association, which represents individual and family-owned businesses, reports that tax parity between small businesses organized as pass-through entities and corporations will end if Section 199A ceases to exist.
Last year, Rep. Smucker held a roundtable to discuss the critical importance of Section 199A that Pennsylvania Farm Bureau attended.
“Agriculture needs a tax code that will provide certainty to navigate the cyclical and unpredictable nature of their business,” said Chris Hoffman, President of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. “Representative Smucker’s Main Street Tax Certainty Act would make permanent Section 199A, which is a vital tax deduction that most farmers have relied on since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Many have said their farm simply cannot afford to return to a tax code without Section 199A because with record high input costs and decreasing profit margins, some are in survival mode. We urge Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act, so family farms have certainty as they navigate the future of their operations’ financials.”