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Ärende: Press Release (060413) for Thu, 2006 Apr 13
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Fact Sheet: The President's Small Business Agenda: Helping Entrepreneurs
Prosper
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For Immediate Release
April 13, 2006

Fact Sheet: The President's Small Business Agenda: Helping Entrepreneurs
Prosper


ÿÿÿÿÿ In Focus: Small Business

Today, President Bush Addressed The Small Business Week Conference And
Outlined His Agenda To Help Small Businesses Grow. The President discussed
three broad areas where the Administration is improving the environment for
small businesses - keeping taxes low and spending tax dollars wisely,
making health care more affordable and available, and expanding business
opportunities at home and abroad.
  þ America's Small Businesses Are Thriving. Small businesses create two
    out of every three new jobs and account for nearly half of America's
    overall employment. They have played a vital role in helping our
    economy add more than 5.1 million new jobs since August 2003 and have
    helped reduce America's unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, below the
    average rate of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Small businesses
    are also vital for supporting our communities.
  þ Small Businesses Create New Opportunities - Especially For Women And
    Minorities. Women own more than a quarter of all businesses, and the
    number of women-owned businesses is growing. Hispanic Americans are
    opening their own businesses at a rate three times the national
    average.

Keeping Taxes Low And Spending Tax Dollars Wisely

The President Has Lowered Taxes For Everyone Who Pays Income Taxes. The
President's tax relief has helped workers keep more of their paychecks;
helped families by lowering rates and doubling the child credit; reduced
the marriage penalty; and put the death tax on the road to extinction.
  þ The President Also Cut Taxes On Small Businesses. Whether as sole
    proprietorships, limited partnerships, or subchapter S corporations,
    most small businesses pay taxes at the individual income tax rate. By
    reducing the tax rates on individuals, taxes on small businesses were
    cut - increasing the amount of capital available to hire new workers
    and expand businesses. The President also increased investment
    expensing tax provisions and proposed more in the 2007 budget to help
    small businesses grow and create more jobs.
  þ To Keep The Small Business Sector Strong And Creating Jobs, Congress
    Needs To Make Tax Relief Permanent. Congress can start by sending the
    President a bill extending the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains
    - so that businesses can plan with confidence and keep creating jobs.

Congress Needs To Restrain Spending So We Can Stay On Track To Cut The
Deficit In Half By 2009. All business owners have to live within their
means - and so should the government.
  þ We Are Making Progress Restraining Spending. Every year since the
    President has been in office, we have slowed the growth of
    discretionary spending that is not related to the military or homeland
    security; we have actually cut this spending in the last two budgets.
    One of the best tools to eliminate wasteful spending is the line-item
    veto, and the President urges Congress to pass it quickly.

Reforming Our Healthcare System To Make Coverage More Affordable And
Available

To Help Make Coverage More Affordable For Small Businesses, The President
Proposes Expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). HSAs allow Americans to
save tax-free dollars to pay for near-term medical expenses and save for
future long-term costs. HSAs provide catastrophic coverage at a low price
and allow employers and employees to contribute to a tax-free account that
the employee owns and can use for routine medical expenses. These accounts
are accompanied by an HSA-qualified insurance plan covering major medical
expenses and preventive care. HSA-qualified insurance plans are an
alternative to traditional health insurance policies and have lower
premiums and higher deductibles. Savings from lower premiums can be put
toward funding the HSA.
  þ HSAs Are Already Making Coverage More Affordable. More than a third of
    those who have chosen HSAs were previously uninsured. Forty percent of
    those who own HSAs have family incomes below $50,000 a year. Over the
    last year, the number of Americans who have bought HSAs has tripled -
    from one million to more than three million.

The President's Proposed Expansion Of HSAs Will Help Small Businesses And
The Self-Employed.
  þ Giving Those Who Purchase HSA Policies On Their Own The Same Tax Breaks
    As Those Who Get Their Health Insurance From Their Employers. Under
    current law, employers and employees pay no income or payroll tax on
    any health insurance provided through the workplace. But people buying
    insurance on their own do not get the same tax break, which puts the
    self-employed, unemployed, and workers at companies that do not provide
    insurance at a disadvantage.
  þ Raising The Amount That Can Be Contributed To HSAs Tax-Free. The tax
    code limits the amount that can be contributed to an HSA tax-free. This
    limit is usually tied to the deductible but sometimes out-of-pocket
    expenses are greater than the deductible. To help Americans cover all
    their out-of-pocket expenses with tax-free dollars and make HSAs even
    more practical, the cap on the amount of money that can be put into an
    HSA tax-free needs to be raised.

The President Has Proposed Association Health Plans (AHPs) So Small
Businesses Get The Same Discounts On Health Insurance As Big Businesses.
AHPs would allow small firms to band together across state lines to create
larger risk pools - and that would let them buy insurance coverage for
their employees at the same discounts that big companies get. The House has
already passed a bill allowing AHPs - and the President calls on the Senate
to do its part.

To Make Healthcare More Affordable, We Need To Reduce Frivolous Lawsuits.
Good doctors are being forced to practice defensive medicine - ordering
unnecessary tests, visits, and procedures to protect themselves from
getting sued. Defensive medicine raises the cost of Medicare, Medicaid,
Veterans Affairs, and other Federal health programs by an estimated $28
billion a year. The House has passed a good piece of legislation - but it
is being blocked in the Senate. The President calls on Congress to pass
medical liability reform this year. To help small businesses, the President
supports the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, which would penalize frivolous
lawsuits.

The President Is Also Pursuing Other Reforms To Make The Healthcare System
More Efficient And Cost-Effective. The President is promoting transparency
so patients know exactly what procedures cost and what they entail. The
President is also pushing for better use of information technology to
expand electronic health records and help doctors improve efficiency and
eliminate preventable medical errors.

Making It Easier And Less Expensive To Do Business Here And Abroad

At Home, The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Is Working Hard To
Make It Easier For People To Start Their Own Companies. Since the President
came into office, the Administration has doubled the number of small
business loans and increased the number of loans to minority entrepreneurs
by 175 percent. We have also reduced administrative costs and bureaucracy
so that small business loans are now much cheaper to fund. Overall, the
cost of running the SBA has been lowered by more than 20 percent - and we
have increased the amount of loans to entrepreneurs by 80 percent.

Abroad, The Administration Is Opening Markets. Small businesses account for
about a quarter of America's exports and have great potential for expanding
their sales overseas, but the cost of doing business overseas is often too
high for small firms. Small businesses need markets to be open and easy to
navigate, which is why the President has concluded free and fair trade
agreements around the world. When the President took office, the United
States had three free trade agreements. Now we have free trade agreements
with 11 countries and 18 more are pending - and the President is pushing
for an ambitious conclusion to the Doha round of world trade talks.
  þ Making It Easier For Small Businesses To Export Also Means Ensuring
    America's Trading Partners Play By The Rules. Next week, the President
    will welcome President Hu Jintao of China to the White House. America
    values China as a trading partner but also expects China to live up to
    its commitments. By standing up for free and fair trade, America will
    contribute to China's development and ensure a level playing field for
    American business.

The President Has Proposed Bold Initiatives To Keep America The Best Place
In The World To Do Business.
  þ The American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI). The ACI keeps America
    competitive by doubling funding for vital basic research in the
    physical sciences, making the R_
  þ The Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI). The AEI speeds up investment in
    promising new technologies that will move America beyond a
    petroleum-based economy and free the Nation from our dependence on
    Middle Eastern oil.
  þ Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The President is working with
    Congress for a fair immigration system that protects the country,
    secures our borders, and meets the economy's legitimate needs in a
    lawful and orderly way.

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