NEWSRELEASE
For Release: August 8, 2005 Extending Increased Section 179 Expensing Limits Regional Advocate Testifies At U.S. House Small Business
Committee WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress should extend the increased Section 179 expensing
limits for small business, according to testimony today by Jim Henderson, Rocky
Mountain Regional Advocate, before a Colorado field hearing of the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Workforce,
Empowerment, and Government Programs. Testifying at the Ft. Collins hearing Henderson said that the increased
Section 179 expensing limits are “having a significant positive impact on small
businesses because it increases their cash flow and dramatically reduces the
paperwork necessary to account for the capitalization of purchased business
property.” Moreover, since the previous more restrictive limits will go back into effect
in 2008, Advocacy “believes the expensing limits should be extended as called
for in Chairwoman Musgrave’s legislation H.R. 1678” and that “ultimately
Advocacy hopes the limits will be made permanent” as called for by President
Bush. Advocacy research shows that increasing marginal tax rates on business income
reduces the chances that entrepreneurs will open new firms while it increases
the likelihood that they will exit the market. Further, decreasing marginal tax
rates across the board spurs entrepreneurship by increasing the rate of new firm
formation and slowing the rate of firm closure. Extending the increased expensing limits of Section 179 will establish lower
tax liability for small firms and thus helps increase firm formation, retention,
and job growth. The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the government,
examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently
represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the
President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in
user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues. For more information and a complete copy of the testimony, visit the Office
of Advocacy website at
Contact: John McDowell. (202) 205-6941
john.mcdowell@sba.gov
SBA Number: 05-38 ADVO
Will Help Small Businesses Grow
Colorado Field Hearing
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visit
www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.