Survey lends insight into tax time

Washington--April 15, the day colloquially dubbed Tax Day that serves as the deadline for filing returns, is only a few days away, unfortunately.

Paying taxes is a burden that small businesses owners and individuals alike must bear and, as Benjamin Franklin so wisely pointed out, it’s the only certain thing in life besides death.

Each year, an organization called the National Small Business Association, or NSBA, conducts a survey of its members that delves into how much time they spend on their federal taxes, what sections of the tax code they find most frustrating and how much it costs them. The NSBA is a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan advocacy group for small business owners in the United States, with 65,000 members in every state and representing all industries.

The results of the 2015 survey show that when asked how much time they spend each year dealing with their federal taxes--i.e., calculating payroll and other business-related taxes, filing reports, working with their accountant, estate planning, etc.--the greatest percentage of survey-takers, 23 percent,  said 21 to 40 hours while the second-highest percentage, 22 percent, spend 120 hours or more.

For 47 percent of those surveyed, the preparation of their taxes costs them between $1,001-$5,000 (28 percent) or $5,001-$10,000 (19 percent)--and that’s not even including any amount the business owner might owe to the federal government.

The NSBA states in its summary of the survey results that the time and money spent preparing taxes--coupled with the fact that 85 percent of small business owners reported that on top of it all, they still have to pay an accountant to actually do the taxes--ought to be a “clear signal that the tax code is far too complex.”

Other insights for the survey include:
--Nearly half of small business owners file and pay on time (49 percent). The second-highest percentage reporting filing and paying under extension (27 percent);
--In terms of both administration and cost, survey-takers ranked payroll taxes as the most burdensome; and
--Sixty-seven percent said that federal taxes have a significant to moderate impact on the day-to-day operation of their business, while 59 percent said credit and deductions have a significant to moderate influence over decisions related to their company and employees.

This is the fifth year that the NSBA has conducted its Small Business Taxation Survey. It was distributed online between March 13 and 14 and surveyed more than 675 small business owners.