Jay Rockefeller: “today I am introducing the Small Business Start-up Support Act of 2012, legislation that will promote small business…”

“today I am introducing the Small Business Start-up Support Act of 2012, legislation that will promote small business growth in my home state of West Virginia, and around the country. Since the recession, I have met with countless business owners, as well as those who dream of starting a small business. One of the common themes of these conversations is the difficulty these individuals have raising capital, particularly when a business is in its infancy. This legislation helps those individuals out, by expanding a successful provision of the tax code that allows business owners to deduct up to $5,000 of start-up costs. These start-up costs are things like legal and marketing costs that are necessary to get a business up and running, but put a strain on an already tight budget. My bill would expand this deduction so that individuals can deduct up to $10,000 of start-up costs. For a business to survive, and thrive, its owner has to do their homework during its infancy. They have to study things like supply chains and distribution models. They have to develop marketing plans. Each of these things has a cost that is incurred before a business makes dollar one. That is when a business owner is most in need of assistance and that is why this credit was first enacted. A temporary expansion of the start-up deduction was enacted in 2008, and it was one of many actions this Congress took to help business owners weather the recession and keep their doors open.…”