Al Franken: “today I am introducing the Small Business Election Simplification Act with my friends, Senators Snowe and Enzi. I want…”

“today I am introducing the Small Business Election Simplification Act with my friends, Senators Snowe and Enzi. I want to thank them for this collaboration, and I especially want to acknowledge Senator Snowe for her leadership. As Ranking Member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Senator Snowe is one of the Senate's experts on small business issues. She is always working to make sure that the Federal Government meets the needs of small businesses and is committed to creating the best possible environment for entrepreneurs. That is exactly what our legislation is about--making it easier and more straightforward for entrepreneurs to start small businesses. When starting up a new business, entrepreneurs often choose to organize their business as an S Corporation because of its simplicity. Owners of S Corporations report business income on their individual tax returns. So instead of having their business profits taxed at the corporate level of 35 percent, they pay taxes at their individual income tax rate. Not only is this simpler, but it also often saves small business owners money. To become an S Corporation, small business owners have to go through what's called an ``election process'' and submit an election form to the IRS. The deadline to submit this election form is currently set a year in advance of the tax return deadline for businesses.…”