Congress should set a timeline for tax reform

As the nation inches closer to the presidential election in November, we will see more and more attention paid to Latino voters in the media and elsewhere.

While there is no one sole driving issue for this growing voting bloc, there is indeed a way for smart candidates to address the overarching theme of economic empowerment that is crucial for this constituency, as it is for everyone. Latino voters, like all American voters, consistently rank the economy as the No. 1 issue they care about. A great place to start is addressing the need to reform our outdated and convoluted tax code and its impact on small businesses — which are still the economic engine that drives our economy.

{mosads}Among the many problems with our tax code is that it drives companies to move their headquarters overseas (commonly called “inversion”); it costs business owners thousands of dollars in tax filing fees; and generally drives up the cost of owning a business — just a few of the many major concerns for anyone who works for, or owns, a company in the U.S. We need representatives in Congress and presidential candidates to set a clear timeline for fixing our broken tax code. Lack of action is hurting job creation and our economy as a whole.

All American businesses, including the nearly 1.5 million Latino-owned businesses in this country, are faced with navigating the labyrinth of tax laws and regulations that lawmakers have left untouched for the last 30 years. Promises from presidential candidates are nice to hear, but it is Congress that currently has enough momentum and clout to actually do something. The House Ways and Means Committee has taken the initiative to hold several hearings the past few months, and they seem to be rallying behind the need to address the issue of inversions.

In last week’s hearing by the House Tax Policy Subcommittee, both Chairman Charles Boustany (R-La.) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-Mass.) agreed that immediate bipartisan action is not only possible, but necessary, to update a tax code which is costing America jobs and opportunity. Neal went on to clarify that “Tax reform cannot wait, the economy, clearly, cannot wait. And certainly the American people cannot wait.”

Reforming and simplifying the tax code should be seen as an obvious way to improve growth in our nation’s business sector. In addition to driving America’s economic growth, small businesses are a key factor in promoting economic progress in local communities. But like any good plan, we need a timeline for action.

American Hispanics start their own businesses at a rate nearly triple the national average. Even with this entrepreneurial drive, the economic benefits of owning a business are being lost due to inaction. More than half of businesses owned by Hispanics are barely growing; many are just stagnating, or even shrinking. The tangible results are lost wages, lost jobs, lost local tax revenue and lost investment in local communities. As Congress continues to do nothing, it lets a massive economic opportunity slip away.

For those vying for the presidential nomination, economic growth through tax reform should stay at the forefront of their campaigns. But it is Congress that has the best shot of starting work on meaningful reform right now. As elected officials, they have a duty to improve the lives of working Americans by making the U.S. an attractive place to start and grow a business. Hearings are a good start, but small businesses are waiting to see the discussion and planning around modernizing our tax code turn to action. Asking Congress to set a timeline for when and how they intend to fix our broken, outdated and inefficient tax code is not just reasonable; it is imperative.

Lopez is president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, a national advocacy organization that promotes liberty, opportunity and prosperity.