NASHVILLE, TENN. – Senate Democrats have passed an enormous spending package that would increase taxes on all Americans, further strain supply chains and kill tens of thousands of jobs. The legislation will impose hundreds of billions in new tax increases on American businesses and manufacturers while inflation is at a 41-year high. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced numerous measures to the legislation to stop these tax increases and protect hard-working Americans.

“Despite the Democrats’ desperate attempts to frame their latest tax-and-spending spree as a relief package, their legislation will actually increase taxes on hardworking Americans and Main Street businesses,” said Senator Blackburn. “Inflation is at a 41-year high, and businesses are struggling. We should be cutting taxes, not increasing them. It is a shame that Senate Democrats would rather force through a socialist agenda than embrace a few common sense changes to their bill.”

What They Are Saying: Tennessee Business Owners React to Democrat-Led Tax Increases

“We have endured a shortage in the supply chain and an increase in prices in every aspect that has affected every business,” said Catina Dennis,

Owner of Dennis Concrete Service, Clarksville, Tennessee. “As a small business owner, I am disturbed to see that there could be an increase in our taxes. These past few years have already been difficult enough. We are already seeing price hikes in fuel, concrete, parts, vehicles, machinery and many other areas of the manufacturing industry. Another tax increase would lead to our small business making financial and difficult decisions.”

“Manufacturers across the country have already had an extremely difficult year because of price increases on goods and materials” said Andrew Arbogast, Founder and Owner of Arbo’s Cheese Dip, Memphis, Tennessee. “We have so far managed to avoid passing these costs onto our customers. However, a tax increase will make that impossible. This should not be a partisan issue – this affects everyone.”

“Small businesses have had a difficult year trying to recover after the pandemic, with just inflation alone,” said Andrew Lang, Owner of Leatherwood Distillery, Pleasant View, Tennessee. “Small businesses have been doing everything in our power to keep our customers prices down. A dramatic increase in taxes would crush us. This cost to our bottom line would have to be passed on to the customer, which would clearly create a drop in sales! People can’t keep getting hit with price increases at a time when everything already costs too much.”

“We’ve been struggling with so many issues,” said Paola Bravo, President, S. Bravo Systems, Inc., Lexington Tennessee. “Never in Bravo’s history have we had to raise prices 3 times in one year. Every week we receive notice of materials increasing. We struggle with finding people to work. Our P&L shows we are not making profit. It’s all moving so fast that by the time you catch what’s happening, we’ve closed our books for the month and lost. As we adjust for the new Month it happens again. Employers are taxed to death and government keeps asking for more.”

“A 15% increase on manufacturing is going to be the kiss of death to a lot of businesses,” said Richard Eskildson, Commercial Installation, LLC, Clarksville, Tennessee. “We're already struggling with, hyperinflation, supply chain delays, supply chain costs, increase fuel costs, increased insurance and labor increases. It's just too much it's going to be unbearable.”

“Representing numerous manufacturers, I see the never-ending supply chain issues everyone is facing,” said James Caldwell, President, Ladd’s Golf and Turf, Memphis, Tennessee. “Couple the costs and inefficiencies associated in the supply chain problems with high inflation, rising interest rates, and now a proposed bill that exacerbates all of these; I can’t imagine how long it will take to unwind the pain. The proposed bill injects more stimulus into an over stimulated demand side weighted with high inflation. Then to make matters worse it adds additional taxes and burden onto the supply side via minimum taxes and deduction elimination regarding manufacturers. The profit manufacturers have been able to make is not sitting in cash for new tax payments, rather, it is invested in bloating inventories and investments to overcome current supply chain issues. This bill does exactly the wrong things.”

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• Click here for Senator Blackburn’s statement on the Democrats’ reckless tax and spending spree.