First, they were frustrated with the tone of the message, as if they were breaking rules or something. Once we got beyond that and described what the proposals were actually trying to achieve, it was interesting to note that some of the proposed measures didn't bother them.
The second thing I noticed was that the small business owners immediately switched to the solution. That's what they do as small business owners. They said, “If I can't split income with my wife, and I have to do that, that means I can't hire x, y, z employees.” That's how quickly they jump to solutions. They don't have time to do all these other things and hope for things. They just went ahead and planned as if this was actual legislation and started making business changes. The one that worried me the most was the individual who said, “With these changes I can make more money after tax just being an employee, so I'm just calling it a day,” and then he was going to fire his five employees.
There's a feeling that they're not trusted and not seen as doing their fair share in paying taxes, so they are just moving on.