News from NAM

Manufacturers Win First Round Against IRS Effort to Silence Advocacy Groups

NAM Senior Vice President and General Counsel Linda Kelly released this statement after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced plans to drop its proposed rules to govern tax-exempt social welfare organizations on candidate-related political activities:

“We are pleased the IRS listened to manufacturers’ concerns and decided to drop its efforts to impinge on our First Amendment rights. These proposed rules could have upended our ability to effectively represent manufacturers and squelched our efforts to inform our members and the public on issues of importance.

Our nation benefits when America’s job creators exercise their First Amendment rights and speak out about public policy and other issues facing the nation, and these rules would have undermined such benefits. The Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action is committed to protecting the rights of manufacturers and will continue to push back against instances of agency overreach.”

In February, the Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action filed comments urging the IRS not to adopt the proposed rules. To read more about the Manufacturers’ Center for Legal Action, visit www.nam.org.

Manufacturers Bullish on Expected Sales and Capital Spending

Manufacturers are bullish about the future, projecting both the largest increase in capital spending as well as the largest uptick in expected sales in more than two years, according to the latest National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)/ IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers. This optimism is counterbalanced with the survey results showing palpable frustration with the direction of the country as well as concerns over regulatory, tax and health care policies coming from Washington. Key survey findings include the following:

• Manufacturers plan to increase their capital investment by 2.3 percent over the next 12 months, the highest figure in more than two years.
• Manufacturers expect sales to increase 4.1 percent over the next 12 months, the highest figure in more than two years.
• 72.7 percent of respondents cite rising health care and insurance costs as a primary business challenge.
• 71.4 percent of respondents cite taxes, regulations and government uncertainties as a primary business challenge.
• 79.3 percent of respondents said that the country was on the “wrong track.”

“Manufacturing in America is making a comeback both in output and outlook,” said NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray. “However, manufacturers’ optimism is quickly tampered by frustrations with the political process and concerns over Washington’s burdensome regulatory, tax and health care policies. These frustrations consistently loom large with manufacturers and are often the driver behind decisions to continue growth and investment.”

The NAM/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers was conducted among the NAM’s membership of small, medium and large manufacturers.

Visit nam.org for full survey results.