05/22/02 Roundtable

To read the transcript of this roundtable, please click here.

Event participants:

      Mr. Patrick Von Bargen
           Executive Director, National Commission on Entrepreneurship
      Mr. Douglass Tatum
           CEO, Tatum CFO Partners, LLP
      Mr. Mark Heesen
           President, National Venture Capital Association
      Mr. Francis Carroll
           Founder and CEO, Small Business Service Bureau, Inc.
      Mr. Benjamin Cooper
           Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Printing Industries of America
      Mr. Giovanni Coratolo
           Director, Small Business Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
      Mr. Lee Culpepper
           Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, National Restaurant Association
      Ms. Angelia Doye
           Chief Financial Officer, Gwathmey, Inc.
      Ms. Susan Eckerly
           Director of Federal Public Policy, National Federation of Independent Businesses
      Mr. Moctesuma Esparza
           Chairman, New America Alliance
      Mr. Jerry Feigen
           Director of Macklin Center for Entrepreneurship, Montgomery College
      Ms. Kathryn Freeland
           CEO, RGII Technologies, Inc.
      Mr. Dean Garritson
           Vice President, Small and Medium Manufacturers, National Association of Manufacturers
      Mr. Robert Hughes
           President, National Association for the Self-Employed
      Mr. Todd McCracken
           President, National Small Business United
      Mr. Duane McKnight
           Partner, Syncom Funds
      Mr. Darrell McKigney
           President, Small Business Survival Committee
      Mr. Lee Mercer
           President, National Association of Small Business Investment Companies
      Ms. Amy Millman
           President, Springboard Enterprises
      Mr. Richard Newpher
           Executive Director, Washington Office, American Farm Bureau Federation
      Mr. Bruce Phillips
           Senior Fellow in Regulatory Studies, National Federation of Independent Businesses
      Mr. Jeremy Wiesen
           Associate Professor, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business

Agenda for the Roundtable titled "Unleashing the Power of Entrepreneurship: Stimulating Investment in America's Small Businesses"

• Opening Remarks
  • Senator John F. Kerry, Chairman
  • Senator Chris Bond, Ranking Member
• Statements
  • Other Members of the Committee in Attendance
  • The Honorable Jim DeMint, House of Representatives
  • The Honorable Brian Baird, House of Representatives
• Presentations from Panelists
  • Mr. Peter Von Bargen, Executive Director, National Commission on Entrepreneurship
  • Mr. Douglass Tatum, Chief Executive Officer, Tatum CFO Partners
  • Mr. Mark Heesen, President, National Venture Capital Association
• Barriers to Access to Capital
  • Capital needs and the stages of entrepreneurial development
  • Hurdles to overcome in obtaining various forms of financing: personal loans, angel investments, SBICs/SBA loans, private equity group financing, venture capital, commercial bank lending, and the IPO market
  • Different issues confronting start-up firms, emerging-growth companies, and established small businesses
• Tax Considerations Affectnig Capital and Labor Investment Decisions
  • Negative cash flow situation of rapidly-growing, entrepreneurial firms
  • Tax treatment of capital investments - depreciation schedules, small business expensing allowance
  • Capital gains on small business investments
  • Other tax issues
• Policy Proposals to Stimulate Small Business Investment and Capital Formation
  • S. 1903 - the BRIDGE Act - temporary tax deferral for rapidly-growing small businesses
  • S. 1676 - the Affordable Small Business Stimulus Act - capital gains incentives for inveestments in small business stock
  • Other proposals