Congress Passes Small Business Jobs Bill
Washington, DC – September 23, 2010 – Today U.S. Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA14) joined a majority of Members of Congress in voting for the Small Business Jobs Act (H.R. 5297), a bill to expand much needed lending to millions of small businesses – and to offer tax incentives to help small businesses grow, hire, and reinvigorate our economy. This bill will now be sent to President Obama to be signed into law.
Small businesses are the engine of our economy, creating two-thirds of the new jobs over the last 15 years. America’s 27 million small businesses continue to face a lack of credit and tight lending standards, with the number of small businesses loans down nearly 5 million since the financial crisis in 2008 under President Bush.
The Small Business Jobs Act will help small businesses create 500,000 new jobs:
Gives small businesses $12 billion in tax cuts to spur investment, growth, new starts and hiring
Doubles and enhances small business expensing and extends bonus depreciation
allows for 100% exclusion of capital gains on investments in small business
doubles the deduction for start-up expenditures
allows self-employed taxpayers to deduct health costs for payroll tax purposes
Leverages up to $300 billion in private sector lending for small businesses, along with state grants for small business lending
Expands small business access to private capital to finance an expansion and hire new workers
Helps Main Street businesses compete with large corporations
Doesn’t add a dime to the deficit – in fact, it’s fully paid for over 10 years by closing tax loopholes and reducing the tax gap
The bill is supported by the National Small Business Association, Small Business Majority, National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Independent Community Bankers of America, American Bankers Association, Financial Services Roundtable, Business & Professional Women’s Foundation, International Franchise Association, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers, and National Association for the Self-Employed.
This is just the latest bill approved by the 111th Congress to help small businesses across the country. Congress has also enacted legislation to:
Provide a payroll tax holiday for businesses that hire unemployed workers and an income tax credit of $1,000 for businesses that retain these employees. (According to the Treasury Department, between February and June 2010, businesses had hired 5.6 million workers who had been unemployed for 8 weeks or longer, making those businesses eligible for HIRE Act tax exemptions and credits.) (HIRE Act, PL 111-147)
Provide $40 billion in tax credits for small businesses to help them offer employee health insurance coverage – if they choose to do so. These tax credits will cover a portion of the premium costs for their employees’ coverage. More than 4 million small businesses are eligible for these credits. (Affordable Care Act, PL 111-148)
Allow businesses to use net operating losses for 2008 and 2009 to offset profits from five previous years, up from two years. (Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act, PL 111-92)
Spur small business investment by providing enhanced small business expensing, doubling the amount small businesses can immediately write off their taxes for capital investments and purchases of new equipment made in 2009. (Recovery Act, PL 111-5)
Extend the enhanced small business expensing provisions to cover investments and purchases made in 2010. (HIRE Act, PL 111-147)
Help businesses quickly recover costs of new capital investments by providing increased bonus depreciation for businesses that made investments in new plants and equipment in 2009. (Recovery Act, PL 111-5)
Spur investments in small businesses by providing an exclusion of 75 percent (up from 50 percent) of capital gains from taxes for investors in small businesses who buy stock (in 2009 and 2010) and hold it for more than five years. (Recovery Act, PL 111-5)
Reduce the required estimated tax payments for certain small businesses in 2009. (Recovery Act, PL 111-5)
Provide tax relief for taxable corporations converting into S corporations in 2009 and 2010 by reducing the built-in gains holding period from 10 years to 7 years (with gains held for the holding period exempt from tax). (Recovery Act, PL 111-5)