NFIB Weekly News
Leading the News
NFIB: Major Win for Main Street as FinCEN Promises to Destroy Small Business Beneficial Owner Data... (09/10/2025)
Congressional Letter Led by Senator Jim Banks, Congressman Warren Davidson Was Key Step in Protecting America’s Small Businesses
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 10, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released the following statement from NFIB President Brad Close in response to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announcement that they will destroy the data previously submitted by U.S. small business owners who were forced to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act’s unconstitutional and invasive Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting rule, and that FinCEN will issue a final rule by the end of the year.
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NFIB Releases New Ads Thanking Congress for Making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction Permanent (08/22/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 22, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, today released new radio, digital and billboard advertisements thanking Congress for taking action to make the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent.
The multi-platform campaign, which represents a continuation of NFIB’s multi-year advocacy effort in support of the Small Business Deduction, is running on radio, digital, and billboards in states across the country. The ads thank Congress for voting to make the deduction permanent and for stopping a massive tax hike on small business owners.
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Federal Court Delivers Swipe-Fee Relief for Small Business Retailers (08/12/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 12, 2025) – NFIB commends the recent decision in the case Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System at the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. The case concerns the Federal Reserve’s Regulation II, which allows banks to extract exorbitant profits from small businesses through debit card swipe fees. The court vacated the rule, concluding that the Federal Reserve considered factors beyond the authority granted to it by Congress. Unfortunately, the court paused its holding from taking effect while the government appeals.
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Small businesses support commonsense legislation to provide clarity and reduce excessive government regulation (07/21/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 21, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, announced that H.R. 3898, the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today (PERMIT) Act will be an NFIB Key Vote for the 119th Congress. NFIB sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives in support of the legislation which, if enacted, will deliver a long overdue fix to the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) permitting framework and will provide small business owners with much needed certainty surrounding the permitting process.
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Small Businesses Ask for Clarity Regarding Arbitration Exemptions (07/17/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 17, 2025) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Jose Madrigal v. Ferguson Enterprises, LLC, et al. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The case considers the Federal Arbitration Act’s exemption of transportation workers who engage in foreign or interstate commerce. NFIB filed the brief with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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NFIB wins lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (07/09/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 9, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) celebrates a victory in the case Custom Communications, Inc. v. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. NFIB filed a legal challenge against the FTC’s Negative Option Rule, which targeted small businesses that engage in automatic renewals of subscriptions or memberships. Yesterday, the Court ruled in favor of small businesses and vacated the harmful rule.
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Business Climate
NEW NFIB SURVEY: Small Business Optimism Improves Again (09/09/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 9, 2025) – The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.5 points in August to 100.8, nearly 3 points above the 52-year average of 98. Of the 10 Optimism Index components, four increased, four decreased, and two were unchanged. The increase in those expecting real sales to be higher contributed the most to the rise in the Optimism Index. The Uncertainty Index fell by 4 points to 93 but remained well above the historical average. The decline was due to a decrease in uncertainty about financing expectations and planned capital expenditures.
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NFIB Launches Small Business Deduction Thank You Ads for Lawmakers (09/02/2025)
Making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent has been one of the biggest wins for small businesses in recent years. This massive achievement was made possible by the tireless efforts of the small business community urging lawmakers to provide critical tax relief for nearly 33 million small businesses. NFIB’s launch of digital, billboard, and radio ads thank Congress for preventing a massive tax hike for our nation’s small businesses.
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Small Businesses Make Progress Against Regulatory Burdens (08/19/2025)
As NFIB continues its fight to eliminate harmful regulations and overreach impacting small businesses, there have been significant developments in several recent legal cases. Learn more about the implications of these critical cases facing small businesses.
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Small Businesses Urge Congress to Pass Healthcare Freedom and Choice Act (08/19/2025)
Small businesses widely rely on STLD health insurance plans to provide coverage for employees. The current one-size-fits-all restrictions eliminate affordable options for small businesses and their employees. NFIB sent letters of support to the U.S. House and Senate urging them to pass the Healthcare Freedom and Choice Act for better health care choices for small businesses.
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Main Street Business Owners Report Improving Conditions (08/12/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 12, 2025) – The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.7 points in July to 100.3, slightly above the 52-year average of 98. Contributing most to the rise in the Optimism Index were respondents reporting better business conditions and reporting that it is a good time to expand. In contrast to the Optimism Index, the Uncertainty Index increased by eight points from June to 97. Twenty-one percent of small business owners reported labor quality as their single most important problem, up five points from June and ranking as the top problem.
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New Op-Ed Highlights Labor Threats Facing Small Businesses (08/08/2025)
Washington, D.C. (August 8, 2025) – In a new op-ed in The Washington Reporter, Dylan Rosnick, NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations highlights the labor threats facing small business owners and outlines how certain policy proposals in Congress could decimate Main Street businesses. Rosnick urges lawmakers in Washington, D.C. to deliver relief by rejecting radical, big-government mandates that bury small businesses in uncertainty, regulatory burdens, and red tape.
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Small Business Marketing
Expert Criticizes Email For Customer Communication, Says Texting Is Superior (04/19/2022)
In a USA Today (4/14, Deerwester) column, lawyer, speaker, and author Steve Strauss wrote that “email is actually a fairly horrible way for business generally, and small business, in particular, to communicate with customers. Unopened and unwanted, ignored and abandoned, emails simply don’t get through anymore.” Strauss went on to argue that texting is superior to emailing.
Marketing Challenges Facing Small Business Owners Highlighted (04/19/2022)
Startup. Info (4/15) highlighted marketing challenges small business owners find themselves confronted with as well as how to deal with said challenges. One of these challenges is content distribution, with Startup. Info saying that content distribution “entails the practice of spreading your content far and wide. But we must state that it’s also a very challenging aspect of marketing.” With regard to how to deal with this challenge, Startup. Info says, in part, “Have a detailed content calendar that shows when, where, and how you spread your content.”
Tips Offered For Small Business To Craft Effective Brand Experience (04/19/2022)
Small Business Trends (4/9, Pilon) provided “10 tips for creating an effective small business brand experience.” Among the areas small business owners should consider are creating an appealing logo, crafting a brand voice, and improving website design.
Commentary: QR Codes Can Help Business Owners “Bridge The Gap” Between Traditional, Digital Marketing (04/12/2022)
Michael Plummer, Jr., president of “premier New Mover Marketing franchise” Our Town America, wrote in Forbes (3/30, Plummer) that businesses should “bridge the gap between traditional and digital marketing by learning how to use QR codes as part of your print marketing strategy.” Plummer wrote, “Using QR codes in your marketing materials can help your business connect with customers and drive traffic to your website,” as well as help build an email database to “stay in touch with your loyal customers” and boost customer feedback.
SBA’s National Small Business Week Set For May 1-7 (04/05/2022)
The Lower Bucks (NJ) Times (3/28) said the Small Business Administration’s “National Small Business Week: Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship is set for May 1-7.” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the virtual event “celebrates the resiliency and tenacity of America’s entrepreneurs who are doing their part to power our nation’s historic economic comeback.”
Small Businesses Advised To Shift Social Media Strategy To Cope With Instagram Priority Change (04/05/2022)
Insider (3/28, York) reported that in late 2021, Instagram “announced a shift to prioritizing video-focused content over photo-focused content,” and “small businesses and creators [said] that the frequent updates and changes make it difficult to grow their accounts, especially those rooted in photo content.” Social media coach Kar Brulhart “add[ed] that Instagram’s algorithm is prioritizing video and reels to compete with YouTube and TikTok,” and advised entrepreneurs to “create stop-motion reels to showcase their products in various frames or film clips to compile into a montage.” Amanda Teo, a director of marketing at the sustainable-packaging company Noissue, “add[ed] that video content produced in-house shouldn’t feel overly produced,” and was quoted saying, “We’ve tested more-produced videos versus more-authentic videos, and the authentic videos that look like you just filmed it off your phone with minimal editing performed really well.”
Wages and Benefits
Job openings were the highest in construction, manufacturing, and transportation (09/04/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 4, 2025) – NFIB’s August jobs report found that 32% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August, down 1 point from July. The last time unfilled job openings fell below 32% was in July 2020. Twenty-eight percent have openings for skilled workers (down 1 point), and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (up 1 point).
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Tips to Avoid Five Most Common HR Mistakes (08/04/2025)
Maintaining a happy and productive workplace requires structure and guidance. Many claims, lawsuits, and issues in business are avoidable with proper attentiveness. Watch this webinar featuring Beth Milito, Vice President and Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center to learn more.
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NFIB Jobs Report: Labor Shortages Continue to Constrain Small Business Job Growth (05/01/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 1, 2025) – NFIB’s April jobs report found that 34% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in April, down six points from March, the lowest since January 2021.
“Small business owners remained open to hire and grow their workforce in April,” said Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “While the percent of open positions decreased a bit, Main Street firms are still struggling to find qualified applicants for their plentiful open positions.”
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Health Care: Small Business Pays More, Gets Less (04/16/2025)
What it means: Affordable health care is essential for the success of America’s small businesses. Small business owner Marcie Strouse shared with lawmakers the various ways Congress can provide relief from rising costs.
Our take: “Small businesses are paying more and getting less. Small firms pay nearly twice as much for health insurance as large businesses. Unlike large corporations, small businesses lack the bargaining power to negotiate lower premiums,” said Josselin Castillo, NFIB Principal Federal Government Relations.
Take Action: It is time for Congress to provide immediate relief for millions of Americans. Urge your elected officials to make health care more accessible and affordable to small business owners.
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Small Businesses Support Legislation to Restart the PAID Program (03/26/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 26, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, sent a letter to Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06) in strong support of his legislation, the Ensuring Workers Get PAID Act. This legislation would reinstate and codify the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which provided small businesses flexibility to self-report and correct minor wage and hour violations before incurring a penalty.
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NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Job Creation Weakens in February (03/06/2025)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 6, 2025) – NFIB’s February jobs report found that 38% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in February, up three points from January and the highest reading since August 2024. A seasonally adjusted net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, down three points from January.
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