Obama Pushes Tax Breaks for Small Businesses

President lays out ideas to create jobs
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 8, 2009 1:08 PM CST
Obama Pushes Tax Breaks for Small Businesses
President Barack Obama speaks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington today.   (AP Photo)

President Obama proposed a series of job-creating ideas today to supplement the original stimulus plan, with an emphasis on helping small businesses through tax breaks and a suspension of their capital gains taxes. He also called for spending on highways and other infrastructure projects as well as the so-called “Cash for Caulkers” program, which offers incentives to people to weatherize their homes. He did not put a price tag on the measures, saying it would depend on their scale when enacted by Congress.

“Small business, infrastructure, clean energy: these are areas in which we can put Americans to work while putting our nation on a sturdier economic footing,” said Obama. The closest thing to real numbers came from administration officials, who say the infrastructure portion of the jobs plan would be “in the range of $50 billion,” reports Politico. Officials are considering the leftover $200 billion of the TARP bailout to fund the effort.
(More President Obama stories.)

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