My point with the SBA study was not that it estimated compliance costs (as it clearly estimates cost of regulations), but simply to demonstrate that the scope a

My point with the SBA study was not that it estimated compliance costs (as it clearly estimates cost of regulations), but simply to demonstrate that the scope and breadth of federal (and likely state) regulations have grown dramatically, and have a real impact on the economy. The SBA study also supports the notion that regulatory costs disproportionately impact small business, which is relevant to the basic discussion being had on this page. As table one from the SBA study shows, federal tax regulations cost three times as much (per employee) for firms with less than 20 employees than they do for firms with more than 500. There are many other studies with similar findings, and I will not bore you with a list of them, but they almost invariably find that regulations have increased in the last 40 years, that compliance costs have increased, and that small businesses have been disproportionately impacted.