I generally avoid mixing finance talk with political discussions. Still, last night’s Presidential debate has sparked a flurry of online chatter that warrants our attention, particularly regarding small business issues and their impact on Everything Finance. The incumbent and the challenger differed significantly on this subject, and it’d make an interesting discussion to dissect those differences.
During the debate, there was ambiguity over what constitutes a “small business” and what adjustments could greatly benefit the middle class. Job growth also emerged as a recurring theme.
SHIFTING GEARS TO OBAMA’S PERSPECTIVE ON SMALL BUSINESSES
One noteworthy highlight from the debate was Obama’s defense of his small business track record. He revealed that he had reduced taxes for these enterprises eighteen times throughout his presidency. The ‘small business’ label became a hot topic during the debate due to Obama’s remark about the countless millionaires and billionaires technically classified as small business owners.
Despite criticism from the Romney campaign accusing Obama of not supporting small businesses enough, Obama’s track record displays an inclination towards taxing big businesses more and granting the middle class tax relief. For example, during his presidency, he implemented a tax credit for small businesses that hired unemployed individuals in 2010 and introduced tax credits for companies hiring veterans.
Obama also introduced a temporary relief on estimated tax payments for small businesses in 2010, along with a health care expenses deduction for self-employed individuals. He increased deductions for entrepreneurial start-up costs in the same year. Evidently, there are numerous examples of Obama’s pro-small-business actions throughout his presidency.
ROMNEY’S VIEWS ON SMALL BUSINESSES
Though Obama had his initiatives to aid small businesses, Romney asserts his plans will surpass Obama’s in scale and impact if elected. Many political commentators have hailed Romney as the victor of last night’s debate, armed with a barrage of statistics and insights on small businesses. For instance, he caught Obama off guard with the fact that the President’s proposed tax changes would affect a meager 3% of small businesses.
Romney has a clear agenda to aid small businesses by lowering taxes on those that generate jobs. His strategy includes corporate and individual tax reforms. According to his plan, he intends to eliminate excessive regulation that hampers job creation. If victorious in the election, he also aims to protect small businesses and individual workers from labor unions and replace Obamacare with an alternative healthcare reform plan.
Both candidates are keenly focused on a crucial issue in this year’s election – small businesses. It will certainly be intriguing to watch them debate this topic in future engagements.
