WED AM News: NFIB urging Congress to make small business tax deduction permanent; GMAR report shows Q1 home sales “essentially flat”

April 16, 2025

— NFIB Wisconsin State Director Bill Smith warns that letting a 20% tax deduction for small businesses expire would be “devastating” for the economy.

The National Federation of Independent Business yesterday issued a report highlighting the impact of the small business tax deduction, established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The group wants Congress to extend or make permanent the 20% deduction, arguing nine out of 10 small businesses will see a “massive tax hike” if it’s allowed to expire at the end of this year.

“The intent there was to sort of level the playing field between small businesses and some of their large corporate competitors, that was the thinking behind it,” Smith said yesterday in an interview.

He added the tax benefit “really truly does help drive expansion as well as creation of small businesses.”

If the deduction expires, Wisconsin’s small business tax rate would “surge” to 47.25% — including both the federal top individual rate of 39.6% and the state top individual rate of 7.65% — according to NFIB. By comparison, Wisconsin’s C corporation rate would remain at 28.9%, putting small businesses at a disadvantage, Smith notes.

“It’s my understanding that legislation is being worked on as we speak,” he said. “How it comes out is anybody’s guess, which is why we’re trying to convince the Congress to make it permanent. It’s an important tax benefit for small business.”

Wisconsin has more than 481,000 small businesses that collectively employ 1.2 million people, according to the NFIB. If the deduction is made permanent, the group says Wisconsin would see a $1.27 billion increase in state GDP each year for the first 10 years, as well as 25,000 jobs created each year for the same period. Those benefits are estimated to be even larger after 2035.

If the deduction goes away at year’s end, Smith says U.S. small businesses will be less viable as they seek to compete in a challenging economy, as they don’t have as much financial “cushion” to absorb the hit as their larger competitors.

He argued the 20% deduction “has the overwhelming support” of Americans.

“Every poll we’ve done, every poll we’ve seen, this tax deduction enjoys broad support,” he said. “And along with that, overwhelmingly, people believe that it’s had a positive impact on not just America’s economy, but the small business economy. That’s why it’s so critically important that Congress get this message, that we cannot afford to lose this 20% small business tax deduction.”

See the report for Wisconsin.

— First-quarter home sales in the Milwaukee metropolitan area were “essentially flat” from the same period of last year, the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors reports.

From January to March, the four-county region had 3,048 home sales, down slightly from 3,057 one year earlier. When looking at March alone, sales were down by 45 units or 3.7%, for a total of 1,167.

GMAR says “sales are mixed” so far this year, as January’s “sizable” 7.1% increase was offset by February and March being down by nearly 4% each. Report authors point to higher mortgage rates driving slow sales, as sellers are hesitant to give up their lower mortgage rate.

That’s on top of the persistent issue of too few homes being built in the region. Both factors are driving higher prices, with prices increasing by nearly $18,000 to reach nearly $436,000 in the first quarter.

Still, the group says “there may be some light on the horizon,” as listings across Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties were 4.7% higher through the first quarter. Authors note that’s “not enough to reduce prices or increase inventory dramatically, but it is going in the right direction.”

According to GMAR, the “only way to meet demand and ease price pressure” is to have more new construction. That would “normally” add between 3,000 and 4,000 units to the metro market each year, but only 2,042 were built in 2024, the report shows.

See the report.

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and more than a dozen other Dem senators are questioning how the Trump administration’s tariff policy will impact U.S. farmers.

In a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, the lawmakers ask if the USTR analyzed how the “across-the-board tariff policy” would affect farmers before implementing it, as well as for clarification on if tariffs are being used as leverage in trade negotiations.

Citing President Donald Trump’s remarks about U.S. farmers neeting to prepare to supply the domestic market rather than international markets, they ask if the USTR or other agencies have explored how production and consumption would need to shift to meet that goal.

They say “significant parts” of the agricultural trade imbalance are linked to imports of specialty crops grown in tropical areas or imported during the off-season.

“U.S. farmers will not be able to produce these commodities in the same volume or season,” they wrote. “Will consumers need to shift from fresh produce in the off season or be forced to pay a higher price due to the tariffs on these products?”

Meanwhile, the lawmakers say the tariff policy has “injected further uncertainty” into the farm economy even as farmers are already facing lower commodity prices and higher production costs.

See the release and letter.

— The Universities of Wisconsin announced Manohar Singh, interim president of Western Connecticut State University, has been named chancellor for the Oshkosh campus.

Singh, who has been interim leader of the Connecticut school since 2023, will assume his new role July 1.

He will succeed Andrew Leavitt, who announced last fall he was stepping down from the post. Leavitt plans to teach chemistry at UW-Oshkosh after a year at another university.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— State health officials are spotlighting the mental health of boys, who face a greater risk of suicide as anxiety and depression rates have risen.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

Sign up here.

— An upcoming Wisconsin Technology Council event will explore the impact of National Institutes of Health funding cuts on academic research.

Jo Handelsman, director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and a former White House science advisor, will discuss this topic Tuesday at the luncheon in Madison.

See event details and register here.

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