Not Ranked
I've have had first hand experience dealing with a committee recently and because of my situation, I cannot go into my personal opinion about my involvement, but I will offer a few suggestions to think about:
Know your audience - During our preparation of the upcoming visit, we spent a bit of time digging into their bio's and any pubs that either had been released from their office or articles written about the individuals (and/or their staff). It wasn't long into our presentations that we discovered first-hand that this committee had their own agenda and regardless of the facts that we presented, it was twisted to suit their objective(s). Ray Charles could see that we were used as a pawn used to substantiate their position. At first I took it personal, but realized that I (we) were not one of the "Big Dogs".
Research the current situation - Your invitation is based on the fact that you are actively attempting to make our country better (don't want to say active in politics....that term has a negative cogitation), you are well respected at all levels, and the fact that you are a very successful businessman. Spend time becoming familiar with other industries so you'll have a better understanding of what obstacles other small business sectors are experiencing.
My last comment isn't directly tied to taxation, but I see the greatest threat to businesses (small and large) within the U.S. is the lack of focus to develop newer technologies. Case in point is NASA....they're shutting down the shuttle program and I feel that NASA is "wondering" around without a tangible long-term goal/objects. At the moment, I'm pretty removed from the details of NASA's woes but I used it as one example to demonstrate my point that our country is pouring money into other programs that will not allow the United States to maintain it's number one position as the leader in the development of technology.
You may have already thought of these suggestions but I'm hoping that my comments may spawn other ideas that will be helpful in your preparations. Like others, I will keep you in my prayers!
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