Small Biz Hopes for the New Congress
With the Democrats now in the majority in Congress, they head the small-business committees in both the House and Senate. There is a desire among Democrats to focus on legislation to buoy up the lower and middle-class, and small business. And who is the new chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship? Senator John Kerry (D - Mass).
Highlights of Congress' new bills that look beneficial to small business owners are presented below [read BusinessWeek for more detail].
- Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Act of 2007 would provide small companies with fewer than 50 employees a refundable tax credit to help with the cost of health insurance for employees earning $5,000 to $50,000 a year. To receive the credit, employers must pay at least 50% of the health-care insurance premium.
- Introduction of the Alternative Minimum Tax, to help increase loan, contracting and entrepreneurial development opportunities for minority business owners
- Improvements to disaster loan allocation of the Small Business Administration
- Small Business Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2007 would work to reduce paperwork for home-based businesses, ensure that the Tax Code accurately reflects the modern operations of a business, encourage investment in small businesses, and make it easier for small businesses to file their taxes.
- The Business Checking Fairness Act of 2007 would grant entrepreneurs greater freedom over their finances (see BusinessWeek's "New Small-Biz Agendas in Congress").
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