As Colorado lawmakers return to the statehouse, small business owners are asking one question: Will Main Street be treated as a partner, or a target?

Nationally, small business optimism is improving. In fact, a recent NFIB survey found that as optimism is rising, uncertainty has declined to its lowest level since June 2024. That’s thanks in large part to the tax reform bill passed by Congress last year, which made the 20 percent Small Business Deduction permanent, giving Main Street employers the certainty they need to invest in their businesses and plan for the future.

Colorado’s small business owners are hoping for that same stability at the state level. But with a projected $1 billion budget shortfall, uncertainty looms. Many of our members are concerned they will face new fees, employer mandates and regulatory hurdles.

Their concerns are well-founded. During the special session last year, lawmakers targeted and eliminated the sales tax vendor allowance. A small line item within the state’s overall budget, the allowance provided retailers with up to $1,000 per filing period as a meager way of helping offset the cost of collecting and remitting sales tax to the state. Proponents dismissed the allowance as insignificant. But for our mom-and-pop shops, which operate on infamously thin margins, they counted on that allowance to help manage day-to-day expenses.

This session, on behalf of our members, NFIB is pushing to restore the sales tax vendor allowance, protect the Labor Peace Act, ease regulatory burdens and eliminate swipe fees on taxes and tips.

Main Street, along with the vast majority of Coloradans, supports the Labor Peace Act in its current form. Despite this support, Big Labor Union Bosses are attempting to weaken the act by eliminating the second election required to approve a union agreement. Preserving the Labor Peace Act and its current two-step process is essential to protecting small businesses, their hardworking employees and the future of our state’s economy.

Colorado’s regulatory environment has become a serious challenge for small business owners to navigate. Last year, the legislature advanced several bills that complicate owning a small business in our state, including two bills that attempt to insert the government into how small businesses price their goods and services. Additionally, the legislature increased fines on employers who misclassify their employees as contractors. Big businesses can absorb these costs, but that’s a much more difficult task for small businesses.

Despite even the best intentions, in practice, many of these employer regulations go beyond federal guidelines, are overly broad, include hefty fines, or expose small businesses to frivolous lawsuits. The vast majority of business owners want to take care of their employees and follow the law. But unlike big businesses, small-business owners do not have an army of attorneys and compliance officers at their disposal. Lawmakers should resist any more regulatory hurdles for Main Street.

Finally, Main Street needs relief from credit-card-swipe fees (also known as interchange fees). Last year, NFIB was proud to support HB 1282, a bipartisan bill exempting sales tax and tips from swipe fees charged by credit-card networks. The reason is simple: Credit card companies should not be profiting off merchants who collect Colorado’s taxes or workers’ hard-earned tips. This session, we look forward to championing similar legislation on behalf of our members.

Small businesses represent 99.5 percent of Colorado businesses and employ roughly 1.2 million people, almost half of all Colorado employees. This session, small-business owners are counting on lawmakers to see Main Street, not as a source of revenue or a problem to micromanage, but as a partner in Colorado’s future economic prosperity.

Michael Smith is Colorado’s state director of the National Federation of Independent Business.