Press Releases

NASE National Tax Advisor To Congress: Support Extending Tax Incentives For Small Biz

No Need To Impede Small Business Job Creation In This Economy, He Says

Washington, D.C., December 11, 2009 – When appearing before Congress, NASE National Tax Advisor and Certified Public Accountant, Keith Hall, has one piece of advice for lawmakers – in order to continue growing and creating jobs, small businesses need to be able to count on a number of tax incentives. Mr. Hall was invited to disclose the needs of the self-employed business owner at a recent roundtable on expiring tax provisions, hosted by the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.

The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is strongly in support of extending tax incentives that are currently scheduled to expire. In particular, the NASE supports extending the provisions for Alternative Minimum Tax increased exemption amounts, bonus depreciation options, section 179 limits, the sales tax deduction option, the first time home buyer’s credit, and 15 year cost recovery for certain qualified leasehold improvements and five year recovery for farming business machinery and equipment.

“Many of those provisions were enacted over time by Congress to stimulate business and job growth and have been successful particularly for small businesses across the country,” commented Mr. Hall. “Congress certainly could not have anticipated the economic crisis that we all are currently facing, however, now is not the time to end key tax incentives that have contributed to the creation of new jobs.”

Hall recommended that Senate lawmakers not only approve temporary tax incentives for 2010, but also make them permanent, as temporary tax provisions can make for difficult tax planning for the self-employed. He also suggested that Congress pass legislation that would offer the self-employed the option of a standard home office deduction, as well as the opportunity to write-off their health costs as a business expense.

The Joint Committee on Taxation has provided a list of over 25 major tax incentives that are scheduled to expire in 2009. There are also over 85 temporary tax incentives that have been extended from year to year that are scheduled to expire or “sunset” by the end of next year.