Press Releases

NASE Calls For Greater Emphasis On Self-Employed Businesses

Washington, D.C., January 31, 2012 – President Barack Obama celebrated the entrepreneurial initiative enacted one year ago by asking Congress for additional tax breaks and assistance for small businesses. According to the White House, the Startup America Initiative seeks to merge public- and private-sector forces to help encourage business growth and job creation. 

The new action plan calls for an extension of the $10,000 deduction for startup expenses and 100 percent depreciation for equipment in the first year of business. 

“The NASE is happy to see the President highlight the pivotal role that small businesses play in the economy by sending his agenda to Congress,” said NASE President and CEO Kristie L. Arslan. “Tax incentives for startups and for businesses that have recently purchased new equipment are certainly a start, but we are concerned that so few of the policies suggested actually apply to the largest segment of small businesses – the self-employed and micro-businesses. That key demographic makes up more than 78% of the nation’s small business population.”

President Obama’s legislative agenda also included increasing access to capital through the creation of a national crowdfunding framework and expanding the yearly budget for the Small Business Investment Company Program to $4 billion.

Read the NASE’s tax wishlist, the Self-Employed Agenda, here.