Small Business Incentives Lost in Tax Debate
When President Barack Obama announced last week that he was hoping to stimulate economic growth with small business incentives, he steered clear of talking about extending Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy and middle class.
Since that announcement, the story has not been about how small businesses will benefit from writing off equipment purchases, but whether individuals will see a higher federal tax burden.
The issue is whether to let just some tax cuts expire for higher income brackets, let them all expire, or make all of them permanent. GOP politicians say that all tax cuts set to expire soon should be made permanent.
Yesterday, House Minority Leader John Boehner told a Sunday talk show that a compromise might be in the offing, but his colleagues moved quickly today to distance themselves from his comments. Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the only way the tax cuts will be extended is if all of the cuts are extended.
"We can't let the people who've been hit hardest by this recession and who we need to create the jobs that will get us out of it foot the bill for the Democrats' two-year adventure in expanded government," McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Meanwhile the issue of improving opportunities for small businesses is sitting in a bill that will be considered by the full Senate later this week. It must be resolved with similar legislation which passed the House earlier this summer.
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