U.S. Chamber Looks for Final Action on the Jobs Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce urged President Bush to sign the recently passed tax bill that corrects lingering international tax issues and extends important tax relief to small businesses.

In a recent fax to its grassroots business network seeking real-life information about how tax relief will impact business decisions, the Chamber asked: Congress recently passed H.R. 4520, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. President Bush is expected to sign it any day now. We want to know: What will you do with the new business tax cuts?

The following sampling of responses illustrates the important role tax cuts play in generating economic growth and creating jobs.

Richard Hagemeyer (Nashville, Tenn.) Agmark Foods

"How will businesses take advantage of the tax cuts? It is simple. When owners and partners take money from a company and spend it personally, they decrease their ability to grow. Uncle Sam is everyone's partner. He is also the worst possible partner in that he demands 100 percent of his share of the profits each year – in cash, the most valuable asset of a company. If every owner were as greedy as Uncle Sam and each year they stripped the company of all its cash, there would be no growth and no new job creation.

"When Uncle Sam decides to take less from businesses only good things occur in the economy. By leaving more money in companies, at least there is a choice that can be made to use the cash retained to hire and grow. By taking it out there is no opportunity.

"Where will the tax cuts go? They will go to the same activities businesses pursue today — growing, hiring, investing, borrowing, paying down debt, spending, etc. So the question is, do we want business to continue? Do we like the jobs and products we get? Do we want more or less? Washington has the power to decide. Tax more and we get less. Tax less and we get more."

John Register (Columbia, S.C.) Performance Ink

"The nine percent tax cut would allow our company to continue to expand. Although we are making a profit this year for the first year after conception in June of 2000, we are repaying past debt. We are concerned with new debt necessary for faster and more modern equipment, considering the unpredictable future economy of the USA."

Robert McDowell (Alpharetta, Ga.) Teledon Solutions

"As an owner of a small, 8(a) company, I plan to take advantage of the Enhanced Section 179 business expensing provisions, by purchasing a long needed high-speed copier machine, a large scale plotter, leasing a new delivery van, and buying custom software for business resource management. These new additions would increase our company's efficiency and would help generate capacity to do more business. As a result of the savings, we expect to have the room to hire additional people."

Paul Hogan (Omaha, Neb.) Home Instead Senior Care

"We built a 6 million dollar building to office the corporate headquarters of Home Instead Senior Care. We do non-medical senior care for the elderly that want to remain in the comfort of their own home. We have 475 franchises in 47 states and we were leasing space that was too small. Now we own a bigger work space and we are hiring."

Donald Wentler (Rock Island, Ill.) W.F. Scott Decorating

"Any business tax cuts that are available to us will be used to "grow" our business...new equipment purchases, perhaps additional help may be hired, and some debt would be retired.

I do feel that most businesses will react in the same way, and that such cuts would have a general "snowball effect" and would actually reverberate throughout the economy one or more times over."

Russell McCloud (Yuma, Ariz.) Accurate Automotive Attention

"We have made a substantial investment in new equipment for our car wash service to take advantage of the depreciation allowance. We would not have made this investment if it were not for the tax advantages it afforded us. In addition to the new equipment, we are also expanding our services. Net result: three new job openings will be filled this month.

"One of the greatest joys of being in business is providing jobs to those who need them. I'm proud of the fact that we have created three more permanent jobs in our company. It is frustrating and irritating listening to pundits and politicians proclaim tax breaks are for the rich.

We are certainly far from rich when it comes to money in the bank, but we are wealthy in the rewards we receive when creating new jobs. Perhaps that's the wealth they refer to, but I doubt it."

Mike Gordon (Bedford, Ohio) Tendon Manufacturing

"Earlier this year I used the 179 provision to expense off a $160,000 new turret punch press. Sales are up 39 percent this year in large part to this purchase. Two years ago I employed 32 people; I am now up to 43. Another company I own is using the 179 provision to make leasehold improvements. Next year I will also use this provision for additional purchases.

"People should realize this is a great tax incentive because although I get to take it now, I won't have it to take in future years. So they (the Government) are giving up some revenue now, but will realize additional revenue later because I don't have the equipment on the books to depreciate."

Joseph C. Messina, Receivable Recovery

"The tax cuts in the past, for small business as well as consumers, have helped our business. We have grown from two employees to 48 employees in a short time by reinvesting in our business. We service the healthcare and banking industries in recovering their delinquent receivables. The more taxes are reduced on small business and red tape eliminated we will be able to grow even faster and continue to hire more employees. The bulk of the new jobs being created are coming from small businesses like mine."

Monte Merrill (Sutton, Alaska) Builders Bargains

"We are a small to midsize company of approximately 50 employees. We will use any tax cuts to add desperately needed warehousing space so we can take on new accounts and maintain profitability."

James Rosenkranz (Huntington Park, Calif.) Los Angeles Galvanizing

"Our business would like to expand our metals coating operation to include a powder coating line. This will allow our company to offer a broader range of coatings to our customers."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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