For Immediate ReleaseContact: Caitlin Andrews
April 10, 2013202-828-7637
NTMA MANUFACTURER SAM GRIFFITH TESTIFIES ON TAX REFORM
BEFORE HOUSE SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE
Washington, DC–Sam Griffith, President and CEO of National Jet Company in LaVale, Maryland,called today for “a reformed tax code that encourages manufacturing in America and helps our small businesses compete globally in the 21st Century”. Griffith, a member of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA), testified before theHouse Committee on Small Businessat a hearing on “Small Business Tax Reform: Growth Through Simplicity.”
ACertified Public Accountant and former CFO of a subchapter C Corporation, Griffith purchased National Jet in 1992, an internationally known precision micro drilling technologycompany serving the aerospace, automotive, electrical, medical, and textile industries. National Jet is structured as a subchapter S Corporation, meaning all income flows into Griffith’s personal return. A small specialty contract machine shop, the company has twenty-four employees and has added two new employees in the last four months.
“The National Tooling and Machining Association and I wholeheartedly support tax reform that includes real reform for both C Corporations and pass-through companies, which make up the majority of small businesses in this country,” testified Griffith. “We desperately need lower rates, simplification of rules and elimination of the sunset provisions in the tax code to allow us to compete globally. It is very difficult to plan into the future when there is such uncertainty in the tax code. No one likes a moving target, and for the last ten years it has been a nightmare to plan.
“We recognize that policymakers face many difficult decisions ahead in reforming the tax code,” said Griffith. “You will have to decide which deductions and credits you will eliminate or keep in place. However, to remain globally competitive, small businesses use several credits and deductions to free up resources to reinvest back in our business. While each year is different, in 2010, National Jet Company reinvested 137% of our net income into the company and in 2011 we reinvested 112% back into the company.”
Griffith pointed to a December 2012 member survey conducted by the NTMA and the Precision Metalforming Association in which 200 respondents –small and medium-sized manufacturers from across the U.S. – identified use of the following tax credits and deductions:
•Section 179 Equipment Expensing
•Bonus “Accelerated” Depreciation
•Research & Development Tax Credit (R&D)
•Section 199 Domestic Production Activities Deduction
•Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) inventory valuation
•Interest Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC-DISC)
•Net Operating Loss (NOL)
“We fully support Chairman Camp’s approach and efforts by others to push for comprehensive tax reform,” concluded Griffith. “Our greatest concern is a seeming obsession with corporate-only tax reform – a path which leaves America’s small businesses and eighty-one percent of U.S. manufacturers behind.I believe we must develop a reformed tax code which encourages manufacturing in America and helps our small businesses compete globally in the 21st Century. We have a stake in this great country and we want our voice heard.”
Read the full version of Griffith’s testimony here.
About NTMA: NTMA’s 1,400 member companies design and manufacture special tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, gages, special machines and precision-machined parts. Some firms specialize in experimental research and development work as well as rapid prototyping. Many NTMA members are privately owned small businesses, yet the industry generates sales in excess of $40 billion a year. NTMA’s mission is to help members of the U.S. precision custom manufacturing industry achieve business success in a global economy through advocacy, advice, networking, information, programs and services.
About One Voice:The National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA)and the Precision Metalforming Association’s (PMA) combined “One Voice” federal government advocacy program represents nearly 3,000 metalworking companies and is designed to promote U.S. government policies that will ensure a strong manufacturing sector in the United States. For additional information, please visit .
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