Small biz stimulus and the DS biz

The seemingly daily podium appearances by US President Barack Obama and/or his surrogates turned, today, to the small business sector – and there appears to be, in theory, some good news for sputerring, wheezing DS technology and network operator companies.

 

While there’s a mob of them up here in Canada, and plenty globally, a big whack of them (technical term) are in the US, and most of them are small and still in the spending more than they are making mode.

 

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, according to news reports, ordered the Internal Revenue Service to issue a bunch of significant tax breaks aimed at keeping the lights on and the doors opened, and people employed.

 

Among them:

– Companies that earn up to $15 million will be allowed to claim losses for the past five years in the current tax year;

– They can write off up to $250,000 in investments this year;

– They can reduce estimated tax payments to 90 percent of the previous year’s filing;

– They are allowed to take larger depreciation deductions within the first year of property purchases;

– And 75 percent of capital gains excluded for those who invest in small businesses.

 

Banks are also being encouraged, yet again, to start lending again to small business.

 

I would relay what the reaction seems to be to this, but the US media appears to be fixated thisd afternoon on AIG, and the Republicans are just saying it’s bad, because that’s their line.

 

People are smart enough to keep me the hell away from managing company books, but my non-accounting mind seems to register that tax breaks in this climate, that might help companies ride out this storm, are a good thing.

 

Gerba???