07/25/12-  National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President and CEO Jay Timmons issued this statement today after the NAM announced it would key vote against S. 3412, the Middle Class Tax Cut Act:

"Each day the United States draws closer to the fiscal abyss and manufacturers are struggling under the weight of uncertainty. Washington needs to protect ALL manufacturers from the pending tax increases that threaten their ability to invest in their companies and create jobs. Manufacturers don't have the luxury of waiting until the end of the year. They need to make decisions today, and Washington needs to do the same to put an end to the uncertainty that only hurts job creators.

Unfortunately, the tax bill the Senate is considering will guarantee higher income tax rates for many of the nearly two-thirds of manufacturers who pay taxes at the individual rate. These companies will also face a renewed estate tax burden and higher investment tax rates.

Small and medium-sized manufacturers are a vital cog in the job creation engine. Every additional dollar they are forced to send to Washington is a dollar they are unable to invest in growing their companies and hiring workers. These devastating tax increases will undermine the modest economic recovery and they must be halted."

Click here to read the Key Vote letter.

Click here and here to read the NAM's ongoing series highlighting manufacturers' accounts of how the tax increases will affect them.