LIEBERMAN PRAISES SENATE PASSAGE OF SMALL BUSINESS JOBS ACT

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) today praised the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act:

“I strongly supported this bill because it will cut taxes and open up lending so that small businesses in Connecticut and across the country can thrive and create more jobs,” said Senator Lieberman. “Thanks to today’s action by the Senate, these programs will start helping businesses, workers, and the overall economy as soon as they are passed by the House and signed into law.”

The bill will encourage investments in small business by eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of qualifying small business stock.

It will help small businesses grow their companies and simultaneously strengthen the real estate and construction markets by allowing them to immediately expense up to $250,000 of the cost of leasehold improvements and qualifying restaurant and retail properties rather than depreciating those costs over time.

The bill will also dramatically increase businesses’ ability to access capital by increasing the size of Small Business Administration loan limits and eliminating government fees on SBA loans.

Finally, the bill creates a $30 billion small business lending fund that will provide incentives to banks that use the lending fund to increase their lending to small businesses. This lending fund will not cost taxpayers one dime and is in fact expected to generate a small positive return for the federal treasury.

# # #