Rep. Kind's Small Business Bills

A champion for small businesses and family farmers, I've worked on several pieces of legislation to help modernize small business rules, provide retirement opportunities for employees, increase access to affordable health care and help rural businesses prosper.  To read more about my small business agenda, click here.

During my time in Congress, I authored the following small business bills. All of these bills have be re-introduced in the 112th Congress. 

The S Corporation Modernization Act (H.R. 1478)
There are 59,000 registered S-Corporations operating in Wisconsin.  These small, family run businesses are taxed twice on assets they sell in the first 10 years of operation.  This bipartisan bill fixes this unfair penalty by adjusting the tax code to allow S corporations to liquidate unproductive assets after five years – reducing the overall tax burden and freeing up capital to be grow and create new jobs.

Small Businesses Add Value for Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 1534)
Many small businesses do not offer a 401(k) or similar retirement savings plan because of the complexity, cost, and liability of sponsorship.  The SAVE Act would improve existing SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k) retirement plans to make it easier for small businesses to offer savings plans to their employees.

The Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Stock Ownership Act (H.R. 1244)
Congress created the S corporation employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) structure to encourage and expand retirement savings, giving more workers the opportunity to own their companies through an ESOP qualified retirement savings program – creating retirement security for millions of U.S. workers.  This bill eliminates barriers businesses currently face in establishing a new S corporation ESOP or expanding the employee-ownership stake in an S corporation.

Permanently Reduce Farm Equipment Depreciation Bill (H.R. 1747)
Updating the current tax code, by changing the current depreciation schedule for agricultural equipment from seven to five years, will aid rural development, support American manufacturing, and improve farm safety.  Since many finance equipment for five years, the bill will help famers more easily manage debt and better facilitate machinery replacement. As the leader in agricultural equipment production, a five-year depreciation schedule will also boost domestic demand help keep these jobs in the U.S. 

The Home Office Deduction Simplification Act (H.R. 1827)
Allows small businesses to take a standard $1,500 deduction for home office expenses. The current, more complex, formula requires excessive paperwork and is underutilized by qualifying businesses because of audit concerns as well as the fact that complying with the complicated rules for deducting expenses can be difficult for home-based businesses that, unlike larger companies, do not have an army of accountants on staff.

Rural Microbusiness Investment Credit Act (H.R. 2858)
This bill helps generate investment in both start-up and expanding rural microbusinesses.  It provides a 35% federal tax incentive to entrepreneurs who invest in their businesses and is specifically targeted to entrepreneurs operating in economically distressed rural areas.

Small Business Pension Promotion Act of 2011 (H.R. 3561)
This bill adjusts regulations for required distributions from employee pensions, allows certain deductions for contributions to individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and permits companies to contribute more to pension plans without penalties. It also permits employees with 30 years of service who are still working to continue to collect their pensions. This bill helps put our small businesses on a level playing field with larger corporations by providing small business employees access to retirement and pension accounts as well as tax deductions related to those accounts, in the same sense as those available to larger, corporate employees.

Equity for the Nation’s Self-Employed Act (H.R. 880)
In the 111th Congress, I authored legislation that allowed the self-employed to deduct the cost of health insurance for themselves and their family members for payroll tax purposes. This bill passed into law but expired in January of 2011. That's why this Congress, I introduced a bill to make those deductions permanent.The self-employed, including family farmers, were projected to save over $2 billion in 2010 because of this provision. It is important to continue providing these savings to our small businesses - the engines of our economy. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------