Throughout the presidential campaign, both Republican George Bush and Democrat John Kerry discussed the importance of easing the burdens on small business, which both candidates agreed is where most new employment comes from. Following the election, local small businesses, ranging in size from two to 130 employees, had different takes on whether the re-election of President George W. Bush is good for their respective companies.
A major tenet of Bush's economic platform rests on tax cuts, and on Oct. 22, he signed his fifth major tax cut into law. According to the Oct. 23 issue of The Washington Post, the tax cuts enabled businesses -especially small businesses -to deduct significantly more of their investments from their taxes. Additionally, investors received a major cut in the tax rates on dividends and capital gains.
A dividend is the return per share a stockholder receives from a corporation and a capital gain is the difference between what a capital asset costs and the price it is sold for.
Dave Scholl, owner of Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., 350 W. State St., which has roughly 130 employees, said the Bush tax policies have eased the burden on his company both directly and indirectly.
Tax incentive programs such as those put into place by the Bush administration impact greatly on DHI and other technology-intensive companies like ours
he said. DHI has directly benefited and will in the future from tax incentive policies that provide research and development tax credits and accelerated expensing of capital equipment.
Scholl said that tax cuts on capital gains and dividends help businesses like his indirectly because it encourages outside investment.
Catherine Chagnot, who owns Stirling Technology, 178 Mill St., and employs 14 people, said the tax cuts on long-term capital gains were not just for the rich.
I bought a worthless piece of highway fill land several years ago. The money I make when I sell that to a realty developer in a few weeks will all be invested back into my company
including the money I save on taxes
she said.
Mark Amon, who owns Athens Computers and Multimedia, 65 Wonderhills Drive, and employs two workers, said the tax cuts did not affect his business.
The economy has been lousy under Bush
and my business can't grow unless the economy grows
he said. That's why I wanted Kerry to win.
Amon said that health care costs are currently the biggest burden on his business. Bush's plan calls for more privatization of health care.
Kerry's health care plan would have helped because the government would be footing some of the cost
Amon said.
Despite the benefits Chagnot saw from the Bush tax breaks, she agrees with Amon that health care costs are the biggest burden on small businesses.
Health care costs rose 9 percent for us this year and 11 percent last year. It's one of the highest costs to us in doing business
she said.
There was a lot of talk from both candidates during the campaign about reducing health care costs, but Chagnot said she does not know if any real change will take place.
Clinton campaigned on health care costs
and he didn't do anything about it. Bush and Kerry both campaigned on it this year. Will Bush do anything about it? Would Kerry have done anything about it? You don't know what to believe or what's just political rhetoric
she said.
The president's policies on business regulation have helped Scholl's company, which makes medical products.
The Bush administration's handling of the FDA has been pro-technology. Some of his administration's initiatives have led to faster review of drug and device clinical trial data
