Posted By admin on February 26, 2009

Now that a bit of the dust has settled, this is a good time to go over exactly what’s in the stimulus package for small businesses. 

But first, let’s take a look at the following statistics reported by the Small Business Administration.  After just a glance, you’ll quickly see just how important the estimated 27.2 million small businesses are to our country’s economy and overall well-being.  You see, small businesses…

• Employ about half of the country’s private sector workforce
• Hire 40% of high tech workers, such as scientists, engineers and computer workers
• Include 52% home-based businesses and two percent franchises
• Represent 97.3% of all employer firms
• Generate a majority of the innovations that come from United States companies

Now, here’s a summary of what the Stimulus Package means to you as a small business professional:

• $720 mllion to support specific activities of the Small Business Administration
• $400 million to support economic development and entrepreneurship with a special emphasis on businesses located in rural, urban, and low-income communities
• An extension of bonus depreciation so that small businesses can more quickly recover from the costs of new capital investments
• Increased small business expensing for businesses making investments in plants and equipment
• A delay of the 3% withholding tax on payments to businesses that sell goods or services to governments
• A decrease in capital gains tax for small businesses who hold stock for more than five years

In addition, the Package calls for several infrastructure and “green” intiatives that will create jobs and opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

This is just a summary and you should speak with your accountant to determine how any of this can be used to your benefit.  I also invite you to visit Small Business Tax Provisions to learn more about the small business tax implications of the Package.

You may also visit Stimulus Watch to gain easy, online access to the entire Package.  This site allows you to search the document for information of particular interest and also provides a state-by-state breakdown of exactly how the funds are being allocated.

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