Secretary of State’s Office of Small Business Assistance Releases 2024 “State of Small Business” Annual Report

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is pleased to share the 2024 “State of Small Business” annual report from the Office of Small Business Assistance (OSBA).

“I’ve never met a business owner who wants to spend less time running their operations and more time dealing with the government,” said Secretary Read. “If we truly want to be a small business friendly state, we must do a better job of communicating what is expected of our entrepreneurs. There is an important role for regulation, but those rules are only successful if they’re followed. Businesses need more timely information from the state so they can get back to their business.”

OSBA exists to improve interactions between small businesses and state and local government. Over 99% of businesses in Oregon are considered “small,” meaning they have 100 or fewer employees.

According to this year’s report, Oregon state agencies need to do a better job of working with small businesses to share information, especially about new programs and changes to rules and regulations.

As an example, the report highlights the recent Styrofoam container ban managed by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. This change has wide-ranging impacts to businesses not regulated by DEQ, such as restaurants, food trucks, and cafes. To help businesses prepare for changes like this, OSBA recommends state agencies collaborate to better share information with the businesses they regulate.

In 2024, OSBA helped 995 entrepreneurs resolve issues ranging from licensing, regulation, taxes, legal services, and access to capital. Questions about licensing, taxes, and registrations remained the most common topics for OSBA customers.

For the first time, questions about federal regulations outnumbered questions about state agencies other than the Secretary of State’s Office. This is largely due to new federal requirements involving beneficial ownership reporting to the U.S. Department of Treasury via the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). With current legal challenges to the act unfolding on a daily basis, OSBA strongly encourages businesses to check Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) for the latest information.

To read the Annual Report, visit the Office of Small Business Assistance website. Print copies are available upon request by emailing OSBA@sos.oregon.gov or calling (844) 469-5512.