Approximately 90 percent of businesses in Koochiching County could qualify for tax breaks if legislation on small businesses is approved in the United States Senate.
This information was released last week in a county-by-county report, offered by U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. The report shows how the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act could impact small businesses in Minnesota.
The Senate was expected to vote on the bill last week, but the item was tabled.
According to the report, 372 small businesses in Koochiching County fit the legislation’s criteria of having less than 500 employees. The act would provide a 10-percent tax credit on new payroll in 2012 for businesses that hire new workers. The amount of the credit would be capped at $500,000.
“Small businesses are the engine of job growth and economic activity in Minnesota and across the country,” Klobuchar said last week in a statement. “This legislation could help more than 125,000 small businesses across Minnesota grow and spur economic growth around the state, and I will continue to work to move the bill forward and help local businesses succeed.”
The legislation also aims to encourage business investment and growth by allowing businesses to write off or depreciate the entire cost of major purchases made this year. Current law requires major purchases including equipment and buildings to be written off over many years.
The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee compiled the county business information using 2009 data from the Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
