Pres. Barack Obama has proposed to Congress a $48 billion legislative package to aid small-business growth. The administration’s package:

•  Eliminates taxes on capital gains from investments in small businesses
•  Provides a 10 percent tax credit for companies that create jobs or increase wages this year
•  Doubles the amount of startup expenses entrepreneurs can deduct from their taxes, from $5,000 to $10,000
•  Terminates country-specified immigration caps so that the United States can attract highly skilled workers
•  Extends 100-percent, first-year depreciation for one year, effective for qualified property acquired and placed in service before Jan. 1, 2013
•  Includes measures that will help businesses access financing consistent with investor protections, including:
   -  Raising the offering limit under Regulation A from $5 million to $50 million, coupled with strong investor protections
   -  Calling for a national framework that allows entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise capital through “crowdfunding”
   -  Calling for changes in how current securities laws and regulations are phased in for smaller, young companies in their first years after going public in an initial public offering (IPO)
   -  Increasing the Small Business Investment Company program to allow for up to $4 billion in annual support.

Obama addressed small-business growth in his State of the Union speech, saying: “Most new jobs are created in startups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed … tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas.”