So did you hear? Yesterday, President Obama signed the most sweeping piece of legislature since FDR’s New Deal.  This bill has many components – some of the most highlighted features include aid to the states and personal tax cuts for 90% of all taxpayers.  But, this is a small business blog, so let me get on to the featured piece from CNNMoney that breaks down how this stimulus bill will help your business survive the recession.

A quick review of the featured article shows that the stimulus bill is primarily geared toward helping small business owners in the following ways: (i) Increase your access to credit; (ii) Implement changes in the tax code that will offset losses, encourage you to increase your capital expenditure and give you incentives to hire “disadvantaged workers”; and (iii) make it more lucrative for investors to provide funding for your business.  So, how exactly is it going to do this? Here is the breakdown:

1.       Increase Access To Credit

·         Make it easier for you to get loans by: (i) reducing fees for those participating in SBA loan programs and (ii) increasing government guarantee of all SBA loans.

·         Helps you pay off existing loans by providing you with “small business stabilizing financing” of up to $35,000.

·         Unfreeze the credit market by providing $3 Billion of government guarantees to private investors who buy debt securitized by SBA loans.

·         Provides an additional $6 million for microloans.

2.       Changes in the Tax Code

·         Reduce your current tax liability by carrying back operating losses incurred in 2008.  It also allows you to carry this loss forward for up to 20 years.

·         Deduct up to $800,000 of the cost of some equipment as an expense.

·         $2400 credit for each high school dropout or unemployed military vet you hire.

3.       Encourage Investment in Small Businesses

·         Anyone who buys stock in your business after yesterday, and holds it for at least 5 years before selling, will be allowed to exclude 75% of any capital gain from taxation.

Though I have given you an outline of the benefits that will accrue to you from this bill, I strongly recommend that you get the full details behind each of these measures by reading the featured piece from CNNMoney.  In addition to reading the article, you should also print a hard copy, take it to your accountant and start working on a strategy that will allow your business to capitalize on all that was offered in this bill. Yes, I know – what we got is miniscule compared to the bailout of the Wall Street players, but something is better than nothing right?

Stimulus: What's in it for small biz?

Emergency bridge loans and reduced fees for SBA-backed loans are some of the stimulus bill's steps to help small businesses struggling to survive the recession.

By Stacy Cowley

February 17, 2009: 10:19 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of small business loans banks issue has cratered since the recession took root last year. Rebuilding that number is the focus of the small business provisions in the economic recovery bill that President Obama is expected to sign into law on Tuesday.

The bill authorizes the Small Business Administration to temporarily eliminate or reduce fees for participation in its flagship loan-guarantee programs, which insure banks against default by small business borrowers. The stimulus bill also increases to 90% the percentage of qualifying loans that the SBA can guarantee.

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