September Business Breakfast

Our guest speaker this month will be Tom Underwood:
NFIB/Kentucky State Director

NFIB/Kentucky State Director John T. Underwood is a longtime NFIB representative. He is also a third-generation lobbyist who has memories of accompanying his grandfather to the State Capitol. He holds a degree in business administration and a MBA from the University of Kentucky.

"My family has always owned small businesses, and I am an entrepreneur to the heart of my soul," Underwood said.

He counts as his greatest successes with NFIB the enactment of a small business exemption from the Alternative Minimum Tax, creation of a uniform tax return for every local payroll and business license tax, a 100 percent state tax deduction for all state residents paying for their own health insurance, the lowering of workers' compensation costs and the defeat of legislation like the $1,000 annual tax proposed in 2000 to make every retailer pay for litter removal. His recent focus has been to raise the importance of small business success with Kentucky state government.

Underwood considers small business owners his heroes. "They are the folks that put their families' future on the line every day by opening for business," he said. "They are the folks that sweat the payrolls and worry about their employees' health and happiness. They are the people that make America work."