• President Bush Outlines Economic Stimulus Package

• Senator Christopher Bond Introduces Economic Recovery Act

President Bush Outlines Economic Stimulus Package

On Friday, October 5th, President George W. Bush declared his support for quick passage of an economic stimulus package that would assist our nation’s slowing economy. The President asserted that a stimulus package should cost “equal to or a little bit greater” than the funds already appropriated to disaster relief, national security, and airline assistance which total $60 billion dollars.

President Bush also clearly outlined four guidelines for tax relief and economic stimulus:

• Accelerating the marginal tax cuts passed earlier this year
• Targeted tax relief for low and moderate income workers
• Elimination of the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
• Enhanced expensing of capital expenditures for businesses

Earlier this week, the National Association for the Self-Employed attended a hearing by the Senate Finance Committee to discuss economic relief for our nation. Secretary of the Treasury, Paul O’Neill, statements to the committee reiterated the Administration’s position on a stimulus package.

The NASE is pleased to see the inclusion of enhanced expensing and acceleration of marginal tax cuts in the Administration’s proposal. The NASE will continue to work with the Administration, Congress and the small business community to assure that the economic stimulus package included key provisions to assist the self-employed and small business. 

The NASE encourages you to get involved by writing your elected officials to support an economic stimulus package that will assist our nations’ 24 million small businesses. To make this task easier, the NASE has composed a pre-written letter on the subject that can be found in the Legislative Action Center .

Senator Christopher Bond Introduces Economic Recovery Act

Senator Christopher Bond of Missouri, Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, has introduced the Small Business Leads to Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (S.1493). The legislation’s goal is to provide relief from “the economic troubles threatening small businesses by providing tax relief, emergency loans for working capital and new opportunities to do business with federal agencies.” 

The Small Business Leads to Economic Recovery Act of 2001 will improve access to capital through the loan programs offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). It will increase procurement opportunities for small businesses to the federal government. The bill also included key tax components: 

• Increasing the amount of new equipment purchases that small businesses can expense each year from the current $24,000 to $100,000, including computer software. 

• Permitting businesses that do not qualify for expensing to depreciate computer equipment and software over two years. 

• Increasing the limit on depreciation of business vehicles. 

• Raising the meals deduction from 50 percent to 100 percent. 

• Repealing the alternative minimum tax (AMT) on individuals and increasing the corporate AMT exemption for small corporations.

"These tax provisions will ease the cash-flow strains currently facing small enterprise so small firms can invest in new equipment, computers and vehicles, which will help them weather the current economic storm and grow in the long-term" Bond concluded. The National Association for the Self-Employed fully supports this legislation, which includes important targeted provisions to assist the self-employed and small business.

For more information on this bill, including text of the bill, a summary of its provisions, visit Senator Bond's committee website: sbc.senate.gov/republican/newbills.html.