Jobs & The Economy: Putting America Back to Work
“It is our generation’s task, to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth —
a rising, thriving middle class,”
Supporting Small Businesses
President Obama is committed to creating an environment where America’s small businesses — our engines of job creation — can grow and prosper by supporting small business with new tax relief, favorable treatment of investments, and rewards for hiring. Since taking office, President Obama has shown his unprecedented commitment to small businesses across America:
Enacted 18 Tax Cuts: To date, the Obama administration has passed 18 tax cuts for small businesses, including the elimination of taxes on capital gains on key investments in small businesses and 100 percent depreciation to support new investments in equipment – both of which the President has proposed to extend.
Addressed Access to Capital: Since the beginning of 2009, through the Recovery Act and the Small Business Jobs Act, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved 334,815 loans, supporting close to $163 billion in lending for small businesses. The SBA under President Obama has helped push more capital out the door than any other administration over a comparable time period. The SBA has more than doubled the maximum loan size for its largest programs, permanently raising the maximum 7(a) and 504 loans from $2 million to $5 million, and the maximum 504 manufacturing loan to $5.5 million. As part of the Startup America initiative, SBA created a $1 billion Impact Investment Initiative to support private-sector investments in startup and high-growth firms in underserved communities and emerging sectors. The first investment fund was rolled out in Michigan, and will focus on building upon the state’s strong tradition of engineering and manufacturing.
Tackled Health Care: Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, businesses that have fewer than 25 employees, meet other requirements, and provide health insurance through the new SHOP Marketplace may qualify for a small business tax credit of up to 50 percent to offset the cost of insurance. President Obama proposed expanding this tax credit and increasing the maximum size of eligible companies from 25 employees to 50, offered more generous phase-out provisions and simplified the credit, making it easier to claim.
Sped up Payments to Small Business Suppliers: President Obama launched in 2011 and renewed in July 2014 the QuickPay initiative, which helps accelerate payments to federal small business subcontractors. Under QuickPay, the federal government pays its large contractors faster and, in return, requires them to pay their small business subcontractors faster. The White House and SBA also expanded the SupplierPay initiative, a partnership with the private sector to strengthen small businesses by increasing their working capital, so they can grow and hire more workers.
Increased Contracting Transparency: The Administration has established an interagency effort to enhance small business contracting transparency and cut down on contract processing and payment times for small business contractors. SBA created a small business dashboard so government officials and the public can check where each agency stands on a daily basis in meeting their small business contracting goals.
Made Government Programs and Resources Accessible: The President directed his CIO and CTO to launch BusinessUSA, a one-stop shop to make it easier for businesses to access the services and information they need to help them grow, hire, export and compete globally. BusinessUSA was launched as part of the Administration’s ongoing effort to support and strengthen American businesses.