With unemployment holding steady at record highs, getting people back to work should be the #1 priority for the legislature. Unfortunately, for too many business leaders, Massachusetts is not anywhere near the top of the list of states in which companies are most likely to invest because of uncertainty in tax, utility and regulatory issues created by the legislature.

We cannot just rely on unproven industries and business models to sprout jobs at some unknown point in the future. We need jobs now and our existing businesses in the state, whose needs have often been pushed aside as new businesses are lured in, are best equipped for creating long-term jobs.

The best way to tackle this immediate and urgent employment need is more emphasis on broad-based tax reductions (including following through with planned corporate tax rate reductions) and less on sweetheart tax deals for the industries of the moment, creating a stable regulatory environment and emphasizing meaningful reform in areas such as unemployment insurance and utility costs.

Specifically, I will propose legislation to eliminate the corporate minimum excise tax for businesses with fewer than 15 employees and for all companies with fewer than 25 employees in their first three years of operation to help small businesses grow and new businesses to thrive. I would reduce, cap or eliminate tax loopholes for industries which no longer justify the breaks and use that money to fund the tax reductions.