GREENWICH, CT—Congressman Jim Himes (D, CT-4) met with Greenwich business leaders to discuss the tax cuts and long-term investment and job creation measures central to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which passed the U.S. House late yesterday afternoon. Executives from commercial real estate firms, hedge funds, the travel industry, and small businesses joined Congressman Himes at a breakfast meeting this morning for a first-hand update of where the Recovery Act stands.
“This flow of ideas between experts in diverse fields gives me, as a policymaker, the tools to make informed decisions that will encourage smart economic growth,” said Congressman Himes. “The tax cuts I've supported in this bill will help keep and create jobs in Connecticut.”
Key pieces of the ARRA that will help businesses create jobs and increase their long-term viability include:
Tax breaks to encourage long-term investment with short-term spending incentives: The extension of bonus depreciation and enhanced small business expensing will encourage companies, large and small, to invest in their own infrastructure, energy efficiency, and productivity. Spending on these long-term investments will give an immediate boost to the economy.
Counter-cyclical measures to help businesses weather temporary financial instability as the economy recovers: Five-year carryback of net operating losses will spread the time period over which businesses can claim a loss and reduce businesses’ net operating loss by 10 percent.
“The economic recovery package Congressman Himes discussed today will give a timely, much-needed boost to the Greenwich-area economy,” said Mary Ann Morrison, President of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. “This type of open communication between business leaders and the Congressman will help spur job growth in the short run and lead to increased business investment in our community in the long run.”
More information about the tax portions in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is available here.
###
Congressman Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District, which includes the communities of Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stamford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.