I believe small businesses are key to economic restoration. While they have historically been an engine for job creation, they accounted for 85 percent of all job losses last year. That’s why I’m working to ensure small businesses have access to credit, that the tax code meets their needs and that the government has programs that help small business.
Thursday, with my support, the Senate passed a bipartisan small business jobs bill which will provide loans and tax cuts to small businesses throughout the country. The small business jobs bill will increase capital to small business by establishing a $30 billion dollar small business loan fund at the Department of Treasury. Small banks that participate in the program will be required to use the funds for new small business lending – unlike Wall Street who took their bailout and did little for the rest of the economy. Additionally, this legislation is fully paid for with offsets that include eliminating biofuel tax credit eligibility for oil companies
The small business jobs bill will temporarily increase SBA loan guarantee levels and eliminate SBA loan fees. These two measures were passed into law in January of 2009 through the Recovery Act and expired at the end of May. The Recovery Act provisions have supported more than $29.6 billion in private lending to more than 60,000 small businesses across the country. They have also brought more than 1,300 lenders back to SBA’s loan programs, increasing the points of access for small businesses to get the capital they have needed during these tough economic times.
The bill also provides $12 billion dollars in tax cuts to small businesses throughout the country. These cuts will help small businesses grow and create jobs by rewarding new investment with larger tax deductions. The small business jobs bill also doubles the deduction for start-up business expenses to $10,000 to help new entrepreneurs make a strong start.
There are many resources available to people whose goal is to start or grow a small business. The Wisconsin Small Business Administration has offices in Madison and Milwaukee and has a useful resource guide here: http://www.smallbusiness3.com/pdf/english/wisconsin.pdf.
Small businesses are a driving force in our economy, and today we gave Main Street a boost.
Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
