The Small Business Tax Freedom Plan would apply to new companies earning under $5 million annually. It features simplified annual filing, reinvestment incentives and partnerships with states that streamline start-up regulations.
PARK RIDGE - U.S. Senate candidate Casey Chlebek is calling for a five-year federal income tax holiday for new small businesses, a proposal he says would help revive struggling local economies and ease the financial pressure on first-time entrepreneurs across Illinois. The plan was released Monday as part of Pillar Five of his MAGNA Agenda, a platform he describes as focused on restoring economic opportunity.
The proposal, called the Small Business Tax Freedom Plan, would eliminate federal income taxes for newly registered small businesses earning less than $5 million annually during their first five taxable years. Start-ups launched in high-poverty ZIP codes, rural distressed counties, Opportunity Zones and other underserved areas would qualify for an automatic extension to seven years.
“Small businesses don’t need another handout—they need Washington to get out of the way,” Chlebek said in the announcement. “If you have the courage to start something in this country, the government shouldn’t punish you for trying.”
Chlebek pointed to what he called a steep loss of Illinois small businesses since 2020, citing figures showing the state has shed more than 63,000 during that period. He said the trend continues to hit communities from Peoria to Rockford and throughout southern Illinois, where residents tell him they want to work and invest but can’t afford the costs of starting a business.
Key components of the plan include a simplified one-page annual federal filing, a tax credit for owners who reinvest early profits into hiring or expansion, and matching grants for states and counties that lower fees or streamline permitting. The campaign said revenue caps and ownership rules would prevent corporations, subsidiaries and major chains from accessing the program.
According to independent estimates referenced by the campaign, early-stage tax relief of this kind could stimulate between $85 billion and $100 billion in annual economic activity nationwide. Those estimates also project the potential for 300,000 to 450,000 new jobs and renewed growth in rural towns, main street corridors and immigrant-owned business districts.
“People want to work, build and contribute—but the cost of opening a business has become impossible,” Chlebek said. “My plan unleashes local entrepreneurship and puts opportunity back into the hands of ordinary Americans.”
The tax-holiday proposal fits into a broader set of economic ideas within Chlebek’s MAGNA Agenda. Other elements include eliminating federal taxation of Social Security benefits and retirement income, abolishing property taxes through federal-state partnerships, offering no federal taxes for Americans under 23 and providing free prescription drugs for seniors, disabled residents and veterans.
Chlebek often ties his economic message to his own background as an immigrant from Poland, saying he arrived during the Cold War with limited resources and a belief in the American Dream. In the announcement, he said his proposal is designed to give today’s entrepreneurs the same opportunity.
“Entrepreneurs are not asking for special treatment—just a fair chance,” he said. “My plan gives them that chance.”
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TAGS: federal tax relief plan for new Illinois small businesses, Casey Chlebek small business tax holiday proposal, Illinois entrepreneurship support under MAGNA Agenda, seven-year tax holiday incentives for underserved communities, economic growth plan for start-ups in high-poverty Illinois areas
