Small and Independent Businesses Endorse Senator Cotton for Re-election After Shoffner Pledged Support for Energy Tax, Opposed Small Business Tax Deduction And Right to Work

Today, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), which represents small and independent business owners, has endorsed Senator Tom Cotton for re-election to the U.S. Senate.

“Sen. Cotton has earned a 100% NFIB Voting Record this Congress,” said Louis Bertolotti, NFIB Political Director. “He helped ensure passage for the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which made permanent the 20% Small Business Deduction. Small business owners across Arkansas thank him for his work on this and other important issues in Washington.”

Senator Cotton’s liberal Democrat opponent, Hallie Shoffner, has pledged her support for the Pro Act, which small business owners “overwhelmingly oppose.” She also supports a carbon tax, which would raise operating costs for many small businesses.

At her campaign launch, Shoffner also opposed Cotton’s support for permanent tax deduction for small businesses, claiming that the Working Families Tax Cut bill only helped “land barons.”

“Across Arkansas, small businesses take risks, create jobs, and serve the neighbors who depend on them,” said Senator Cotton. “Their success matters to every community in our state. I’ll keep fighting to make it easier for Arkansans to build their businesses and provide for their families.”

In 2023, NFIB State Director Katie Burns wrote about the importance of the 20% Small Business Deduction, which Senator Cotton helped make permanent through the Working Families Tax Cut last year:

“The 20 percent Small Business Deduction helps level the playing field between Main Street and Wall Street. It lets Arkansas job creators–the shops that dot street corners and define communities–deduct 20 percent of their business income every year. All told, this tax cut has saved small businesses billions and counting.

They’ve poured this money right back into their workers and communities. They’ve given raises, bonuses, and bigger benefits packages. They’ve created jobs, which matters because small business creates two-thirds of net new jobs overall. They’ve invested in new technology and equipment that will keep them competitive. And they’ve given back to worthy causes large and small.”

“Senator Cotton wants to make it easier for Arkansas small businesses to thrive, which is why he fought to make the small business tax deduction permanent in the Working Families Tax Cut,” said James Arnold, spokesman for the Cotton campaign. “Hallie Shoffner opposes both the right to work and the Working Families Tax Cut. She also wants a national energy tax, which would raise the cost of doing business in our state.”