WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) helped pass legislation today that will leverage $300 billion in lending for small businesses and create hundreds of thousands of jobs. The bill, which expands much-needed lending to small businesses and offers tax incentives to help America’s small businesses grow, is fully paid for and will save taxpayers $1 billion over the next ten years.
“Helping small businesses grow is the most efficient way to create jobs,” said Himes. “This legislation will help small businesses, which have been unfairly hit by the credit crunch, get the loans they need to invest in their companies and help get the economy back on track.”
Small businesses have created two-thirds of the new jobs over the last 15 years, but last year, almost half of the small businesses seeking loans were unable to meet their credit needs. This legislation will give them the capital they need to create jobs and invest in their companies.
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act will help small businesses expand through investments in states and small banks that focus on lending to local small businesses. This new $30 billion lending fund, with tough performance-based incentives and safeguards to ensure that funds go to American small business, will spur job creation across America. The bill will also help cultivate American innovation through a new public-private partnership designed to channel early stage investment capital to promising new start-ups.
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act offers tax incentives to spur immediate investments in America’s small businesses. These reforms will lower the capital gains taxes on small business investments and increase tax deductions to help entrepreneurs to recover more start-up expenses.
The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act has been endorsed by a variety of business organizations, including the National Small Business Association, the Small Business Majority, National Association of Realtors, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the American Bankers Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization, and the National Bankers Association.