Washington, DC – Michael Bennet, U.S. Senator for Colorado, today voted to move the bipartisan Small Business Jobs Act forward. The bill will help Colorado’s small businesses and entrepreneurs access the credit they need to start up, create new jobs and keep our economy on the road to recovery. The bill overcame a key hurdle on a 61-37 vote and final passage is expected this week.
To strengthen our economic recovery, small businesses and entrepreneurs that are ready to grow and create jobs need access to credit. However, they are still struggling to obtain lending in the aftermath of the financial crisis. As a result, the jobless rate remains high and small businesses are uncertain about the durability and sustainability of our recovery.
The Small Business Jobs Act provides substantial tax relief for small businesses and includes improvements and expansions to SBA lending programs, including provisions that Bennet has backed. The bill also calls for the creation of a $30 billion lending facility for community banks to expand lending to small businesses struggling to obtain loans as credit markets have dried up.
“We need to support our small businesses and entrepreneurs and the jobs they create, and this bill will help,” said Bennet. “Times are tough for our small business owners who are struggling to stay afloat, let alone hire new workers. This bill will help get the flywheel spinning again so that small businesses have the tools that they need to grow, create jobs and help our economy recover.”
Some of the major provisions of Small Business Jobs Act include:
Major Tax Provisions
- An increase in small business expensing limits. It also permits certain real property to qualify for the increased expensing limits;
- An elimination of capital gains tax on sales of stock in smaller firms that is held for more than five years;
- An extension of bonus depreciation, which is a 50% deduction that a business can use in the first year that it places certain property into service;
- The ability of smaller companies to carry back unusable tax credits as far as five years to offset taxes paid in better times;
- An increased deduction for firms’ startup expenditures.
Small Business Lending Fund
- Creates a $30 billion loan facility to assist community banks in supporting small business lending.
- Provides up to $1.5 billion in grants to state-based small business capital access programs, such as the Colorado Credit Reserve Program.
SBA Improvements and Expansions
- Increases the limit on SBA 504 loans from $1.5 million to $5.5 million;
- Increases the limit on SBA 7(a) loan guarantees from $2 million to $5 million;
- Increases the loan limit on microloans from $35,000 to $50,000;
- Continues the increased guarantee rate on 7(a) loans created under the Recovery Act;
- Continues the fee elimination on 504 and 7(a) loans created under the Recovery Act;
- Improves small business trade and export finance programs;
- Allows the SBA to waive or reduce matching fund requirements for Women’s Business Centers and microloan intermediaries for up to one year.