WASHINGTON, D.C. – Chief Counsel for Advocacy Thomas M. Sullivan has commended Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) for introducing the “Home Office Deduction Simplification and Improvement Act of 2008” (S. 3371). The bill will simplify the home office deduction by introducing a standard deduction for small business owners.

In a letter to Senator Snowe, ranking member on the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Sullivan said that he supported the measure and commended the Senator’s introduction of the bill. “Your legislation, S. 3371, recognizes the need for reform and addresses the issue legislatively,” he wrote.

Members of the small business community frequently appeal to the Office of Advocacy for relief from tax requirements that are disproportionately burdensome. According to research from Advocacy, tax compliance is 67 percent more burdensome for the smallest businesses compared to their larger competitors. Tax complexity, combined with the fact that 53 percent of America’s small businesses are home-based, prompted Advocacy’s support for S. 3371.

Last year, as part of Advocacy’s Regulatory Review and Reform (r3) initiative, the National Association for the Self Employed (NASE) and others identified the home office deduction as a tax provision that is unduly complex. Advocacy agreed with the NASE and named the deduction as a 2008 r3 Top 10 Rule for Review and Reform.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.