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Washington Watch
July 23, 2003
New Study: Size Does Matter
in Weathering Economy
A new study
released by the Small Business Administration
Office of Advocacy lends empirical evidence to
something micro-businesses have known for a long time:
small and large businesses react differently to
economic conditions such as recessions and periods of
growth.
“Small businesses, particularly manufacturers, really
are different from their larger counterparts and they
react differently to economic conditions,” said Thomas
M. Sullivan, chief counsel for Advocacy. “They aren’t
just miniature versions of multi-national
corporations, and policy makers need to take these
differences into account when passing laws and issuing
regulations.”
“Small
Business During the Business Cycle,” written by
Joel Popkin and Company, found that in construction,
small firms tend to be more negatively impacted by
downturns than large firms, but do slightly better
than large firms during an expansion. But the
manufacturing/mining sector tends to show the opposite
pattern from construction. These small businesses tend
to do somewhat better in a downturn than large
businesses; but they do not grow as fast during an
expansionary period. The transportation,
communications and utilities sector shows the same
pattern as manufacturing/mining, according to the
study.
Bill Would
Make Increased Expensing Permanent
You may already have taken advantage of the increased amount
of equipment a small business can expense this year, thanks
to the recently passed “Jobs
and Growth” tax package. And if you have not,
micro-businesses can only do so until 2005, when the
expensing level will return back to $25,000. This is an
important provision that micro-businesses need all the time,
and not just for a few years.
That’s why Rep. Wally Herger (R-CA) introduced
H.R. 2638, the Small Business Expensing Permanency Act
of 2003. This bill would permanently increase the amount a
small business can expense under Section 179 to $100,000.
Urge your Member of Congress to support H.R. 2638 by
visiting the NASE
Legislative Action Center.
Do any of these issues affect you? Visit the NASE Legislative
Action Center and “Tell Your
Small Business Story.” This will help the NASE understand -
on a personal level - how key legislative issues are affecting
your business and your bottom line.
For more information about any of the articles in
Washington Watch, contact Maureen Petron, NASE public
affairs manager, at (202) 466-2100 or
mpetron@nase.org.
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