01/17/2007
The U.S. Senate Finance Committee took a positive step forward today in the political fight over a $2.10 hike in the federal minimum wage. The committee approved, by voice vote, an $8 billion tax-incentive package for small businesses. Committee Chairman Max Baucus and other pro-small-business legislators plan to add this relief to the minimum-wage hike that is certain to pass Congress.
This latest step is a big success for NFIB and small-business owners in an otherwise difficult political fight. NFIB lobbyists pushed for these tax cuts, working with members of Congress and staff in both the House and the Senate, to help limit the burden this hike will place on small businesses. NFIB’s effort was essential to ensure that these relief measures were taken into consideration. Today’s vote is an important victory and NFIB will continue to fight for small businesses as this legislation moves forward.
Last week, the U.S. House passed a two-year, $2.10 wage increase (from $5.15 to $7.25) as a “clean bill,” with the new House leadership refusing to add any small-business relief to the legislation. The Senate plans to take up the minimum-wage bill later this month, and Sen. Baucus and other pro-small-business legislators have pushed to provide some small-business relief. Today’s vote follows through on that commitment, and NFIB supports several aspects of this package, called “The Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007.”
The act contains several provisions that are important to NFIB members:
- An extension of the inflation-adjusted $100,000 expensing limit for small businesses (Section 179)
- A 15-year, straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements, qualified restaurant improvements and new restaurant buildings
- A 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified retail improvement
- Expanded eligibility for the cash method of accounting for businesses with less than $10 million in gross receipts and regardless of inventory
For more information on these provisions see NFIB's talking points.
Getting committee approval is the first of several more steps that must take place before this package can become law. The next step requires the Senate leadership to bring the proposal to the Senate floor for consideration, which likely will occur during next week’s debate over the legislation to increase the minimum wage. If the pro-small-business tax package is approved by the full Senate, the House will also need to approve it before the president can sign it into law.
