Earlier today members of the Main Street Employers Coalition met for a roundtable event in Greenville, North Carolina, hosted by Congressman Greg Murphy. The gathering was part of a broader House Ways & Means Committee initiative to solicit input from the business community as lawmakers develop legislative solutions to avert the 2025 fiscal cliff. It also comes on the heels of similar events with Congressman Smucker in Pennsylvania and Congressman Steube in Florida.

The event took place at East Carolina University and drew a diverse group of local business owners. Among the industries represented were distribution, farming, construction, and real estate, just to name a few, all of whom are unified around a singular goal: making permanent the Section 199A deduction. Participants shared their perspectives on the significance of the provision, as well as their firsthand accounts of how it has enabled them to reinvest in their businesses and local communities.

The event highlighted the critical importance of individually and family-owned businesses organized as pass-throughs, which supply a large majority of jobs in Murphy’s district and rely on the provision. According to data from EY, pass-throughs employ nearly 70 percent of private sector workers in the North Carolina third congressional district, yet face significantly higher rates with the expiration of 199A come the end of next year. Meanwhile, publicly-traded corporations, whose lower 21 percent rate was made permanent, employ fewer than one out of every ten jobs in the district.

S-Corp and its allies appreciate Congressman Murphy’s attention to this critical issue, and are grateful to him for hosting this important event. We look forward to participating in many more of these across the country in the coming months and getting the word out about the importance of Section 199A.