NFIB Calls IRS Audit Plan a Small-Business Hunt

The announcement that the Internal Revenue Service plans to audit 5,000 S corporations has drawn fire from the National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business advocacy group with over 600,000 members. 

"The notion that the IRS is embarking on the hunt of small business merely as a way to learn more about how small businesses are adhering to tax compliance requirements, is like heading off to the zoo in search of a safari," said executive vice president of the NFIB Dan Danner, in a statement.

He added, "Small-business owners are creating jobs, growing our economy and moving America forward all across the nation. They already have a job -- running their businesses. The last thing they should have to be concerned with is the IRS putting a target on their back. The IRS' actions are likely to reap little more than another set of hoops that small businesses must jump through in the regulatory jungle of the federal government."

According to the NFIB, federal taxes on business ranked fifth out of 75 problems facing small-business owners. About 75 percent of small-business owners file taxes as individuals, often as either S corporation owners, partners or sole proprietors.

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