Small Business

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities and economy. There are over 24 million small businesses in the U.S., and 2 million in New York.  Small businesses represent over 99 percent of all employer firms, employ half of all private sector employees, pay 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll, and have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually since the mid-1990s. In addition, small businesses have been a source of tremendous innovation and employ 41 percent of the high-tech workforce.

Congresswoman Lowey is committed to improving the competitive position of small businesses through:

• Targeted relief of tax burdens and health care costs;
   
• Increasing access to affordable capital and technical assistance; and
   
• Protecting small businesses from unfair credit practices.

Tax Relief

Lowey voted for tax cuts to help small businesses grow and create jobs.  The Small Business Jobs and Credit Act, which Lowey supported, is providing over $12 billion in tax cuts to increase small business investments and create jobs, including:

• A 100 percent exclusion of capital gains taxes for investments in small businesses held over five years;
   
• Temporary doubling of the tax deduction for start-up expenditures, up to $10,000, to create new small businesses;
   
• Greater expensing and extended bonus depreciation so small business owners have additional capital to grow; and
   
• Deductions of health care payments for payroll tax purposes.

Congresswoman Lowey also voted for:

• The HIRE Act, which provides a 6.2 percent payroll tax holiday for hiring previously unemployed workers and a $1,000 tax credit for retaining those employees for a year;
   
• The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), which allows employers to receive tax credits for hiring employees from specific groups such as veterans and high-risk youth; and
   
• Tax relief for small businesses that purchase capital equipment.

Helping Small Business Expand and Create Jobs

Congresswoman Lowey successfully passed provisions of the Small Business Job Creation and Access to Capital Act in 2010 as part of the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.  Her measure increased SBA 7(a) and 504 loan guarantees, which is critical for business owners in high cost-of-living areas like ours. 

SBA loans have been used to grow small businesses in the New York 18th District, including a flooring company in Elmsford, restaurants in Pelham and White Plains, construction companies in Tuckahoe, an accounting firm in Port Chester, and Elevation Burger franchises throughout Westchester County. 

Congresswoman Lowey also supported the $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund which will leverage up to $300 billion in private capital for healthy small and community banks to lend to qualified small businesses.  Increased lending will allow small businesses to purchase the equipment, inventory and property to expand and create jobs.

 Protecting Small Businesses from Deceptive Credit and Lending

Congresswoman Lowey was a proud cosponsor of the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, which protects individuals from arbitrary, unfair, and anti-competitive credit card practices.  She is working in Congress to extend equivalent protections to small businesses, many of which rely on credit cards to purchase inventory, and to meet capital needs. 

The Small Business Credit Card Act would:

• Require advance notification before interest rate hikes;
   
• Eliminate unnecessary fees, interest charged on debt paid on time, and “universal default” penalties;
   
• Require credit card companies to apply a payment over the minimum to the balance with the highest interest rate; and
   
• Prohibit interest rate changes in the first year of the account.

Federal Contracting for Small Businesses

Congresswoman Lowey is working to remove hurdles that prevent small businesses from fairly competing for federal contracts.

For more information on Federal Grants and Contracting, please click here to visit Rep. Lowey’s Constituent Services page.