For the first time in 44 months, taxes emerged as the top problem for small businesses in the latest monthly Small Business Economic Trends report published by the National Federation of Independent Business.

When asked about the single most important problem facing their business, 22% of owners responded that taxes were the top problem, beating “poor sales” at 20% and “government regulation and red tape” at 19%.

These results indicate that taxes, and the uncertainty created by the “fiscal cliff”, are a major concern for small business.
   
The survey asks owners of small firms to select one of 10 common problems as the most pressing to their business and is a good indicator of small-business owners’ top concerns.