U.S. Policy Emphasizes Small Business

U.S. President George Bush has been making it a point to single out small business in his most recent speeches. This is an extension of the White House's stated policy of support for small business.



For instance, here is an excerpt from his address on January 23, 2004 before the U.S. Conference of Mayors:

"... [O]ne of the things in the tax relief plan that I hope you find inspirational for your cities is it is aimed at the entrepreneur. Much of the tax relief is aimed at the small business owner. And the truth of the matter is the vibrancy of the inner cities of our country depend upon ownership.



When more people own a small business, when people are starting their own business, when people are creating small businesses, they're creating jobs. They're not only creating a more vibrant and hopeful community, more jobs are being created. And the tax relief we passed was, in part, aimed at small businesses -- for this reason: Most small businesses are sole proprietorships or sub-chapter S corporations. And they, therefore, pay tax at the individual income tax rate. And so, therefore, when you reduce individual income taxes, you're injecting capital into the small business sectors of America's cities.



The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in America. You know it as well as I do. The desire for some to own their business is strong. And the tax relief we passed helped invigorate that spirit."

And here is what he said about small business in the State of the Union address on January 20, 2004, from the transcript reported on CNN.com:

"Congress has some unfinished business on the issue of taxes. The tax reductions you passed are set to expire. *** Unless you act, small businesses will pay higher taxes. *** What the Congress has given, the Congress should not take away: For the sake of job growth, the tax cuts you passed should be permanent.



Our agenda for jobs and growth must help small business owners and employees with relief from needless federal regulation, and protect them from junk and frivolous lawsuits."

Here at Small Business Trends we do not take political stands. Our goal is not to advocate for a particular political party or particular candidate, or even to focus on a particular country. Our mission is simply to identify trends that impact the small business market -- worldwide.



So in that light we consider it important to comment when the leader of the world's largest economy demonstrates the significance of small business by singling it out for support. In and of itself, that is a key trend in the small business market. We'll leave it up to the individual reader to decide whether the President's policies will achieve the desired results.