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Healthcare, Wealth Tax Policies Top Concerns for America’s Family-Owned Businesses, New FEUSA Survey Shows
As National Family Business Day Arrives, Concerns Over Healthcare Policies and Wealth Taxes Grow, New Survey Shows
With the celebration of National Family Business Day on June 23, a new survey shows the top priorities of America’s family-owned businesses are changing in two key areas, rising healthcare costs and the threat of new wealth tax proposals.
The just released results from the 2026 Annual Family-Owned Business Survey by Family Enterprise USA (FEUSA) are based on a survey among 710 family-owned business respondents from 46 states.
The survey is the most comprehensive annual survey of issues and concerns facing family-owned businesses in America. Family-owned businesses contribute $7.7 trillion annually to the U.S. economy and support 83.3 million jobs, according to research.
The results show family-owned businesses reside in three main industry categories: “Manufacturing/Operations” with 22% of respondents stating this was their industry, while 14.5% were in “Construction/Facilities,” and 8% were in “Real Estate.”
It was found that 82% of family-owned businesses had “Sole” or “Majority Ownership” In addition, 80% of family-owned businesses have been in operation for 20 years or more, results showed.
Top Policy Concerns
The 2026 survey found the three tax policies “Of Top Concern” to family-owned businesses were (by percentage of respondents): 1) Income taxes 57%, up from 47% in 2025; 2) Estate taxes (“Death Tax”) at 19%, holding the same 19% as 2025; and 3) Wealth Taxes, jumping to 10% concerned, a doubling from 5% of those concerned about it last year.
The survey also found the top economic policy priorities for family businesses right now are “Healthcare” with 51% of respondents saying this was a top concern. In the 2025 survey the subject of “Healthcare” did not register in the top ten concerns.
Next, were “Wealth Tax” concerns, with 22.5% saying taxation on assets and wealth were a major worry. In the 2025 survey, this concern was only registered by 6% or respondents.
Concerns over the growing “National Debt” dropped dramatically to 13% this year, from a high of 32% in 2025, the survey showed.
Growth Worries
When asked about the “Greatest Impediment to Growth” this year and in 2027, 31% of respondents said “Market Conditions” were the biggest barrier, up slightly from 29% last year. The survey showed 22% were concerned about the “Cost/Availability of Labor” as the greatest impediment to growth, down slightly from 25.4% in last year’s survey.
When respondents were asked if they “Paid Less in Taxes, What Would You Do?”, 88% said they would “put the savings back into their family business,” including paying employees more.
“Each year we ask America’s family-owned businesses what their concerns are right now, and this year’s answers changed dramatically,” said Pat Soldano, President, Family Enterprise USA and Family Enterprise USA Action, survey organizers. “We saw a dramatic rise in concerns over healthcare policies and, an even more dramatically, we saw family business leaders waking up to the real threat of state and federal wealth taxes, which could see tax penalties on their savings, real estate, and equipment,” she said. “This research is an important annual tool to help educate our policy makers, so they understand the importance and size of family businesses in our economy, and to make better policy decisions to help family-owned businesses grow and prosper for generations to come.”
For an Executive Summary of the 2026 Annual Family-Owned Business go to: FEUSA 2026 Annual Family-Owned Business Survey.
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The need for fact-based reporting of issues important to family offices and hardworking families and protecting a lifetime of savings has never been greater. Now more than ever, family offices and hardworking families are under fire. That’s why Family Enterprise USA Action is passionately working to increase the awareness of issues important to family offices and hardworking families, while continuing to strengthen our presence on Capitol Hill.
Family Enterprise USA Action engages with legislators on Capitol Hill on behalf of family offices, hardworking families, and family-owned businesses. It is focused exclusively on the critical tax and economic policies that impact them. Since 1995, FEUSA Action has been the leading advocacy group working daily in Washington, D.C., to reduce and eliminate estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax while blocking increased income and capital gains taxes, the creation of a wealth tax, and other hostile policies that punish hardworking taxpayers and success in the U.S. It is a bipartisan 501.c4 organization.