President Obama Taking Steps to Help Small Businesses

This week, President Obama announced that he is pushing to eliminate capital gains taxes, extend write-offs, and create employment incentives for small businesses in an effort to boost to a segment of the economy still reeling from the downturn.

President Obama certainly did the right thing by bringing this issue to the forefront. The small business sector is the backbone of innovation for our country. It is also the life-blood of many people running smaller, localized businesses in smaller towns throughout the nation. The bottom-line is that the health of the small business sector is critical to getting our economy back on the right footing.

Specifically, Mr. Obama that he would extend break (through 2010) allowing small businesses to immediately write off as much as $250,000 in qualified investments, and a second break allowing small and large businesses to deduct more capital expenses upfront.

Of course, one of the biggest challenges for small businesses is the inability to get bank loans these days. Mr. Obama proposed to eliminate fees and increase government guarantees in 2010 for loans from the Small Business Administration. He said the Treasury would step up loans to small businesses from the bank bailout fund, the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

These are all certainly steps in the right direction for this beleaguered sector. I look forward to seeing how these efforts will pay off in 2010, which will be a critical year for our economy. Stay tuned for more small business news and tips from this blog. And, I welcome all thoughts, comments and feedback.