By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Small businesses in Central New Jersey can expect President Barack Obama’s stimulus package to contain a variety of credits and initiatives they can take advantage of, said U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, D-12, in a conference call on Tuesday morning.
Because of alterations to the package that passed the House of Representatives, which are being contemplated in the Senate, Rep. Holt said he was not able to provide as many details to area businesses as he had hoped in the conference call, which lasted approximately 20 minutes.
The conference call was organized with the participation of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce for the benefit of area business owners.
”This will be costly,” Rep. Holt said of the estimated $800 to 900 billion stimulus package, “but the understanding is, less costly than having the entire economy spiral into, well, depression.”
Support for traditional jobs and industries will be part of the plan, “which fairly directly puts people to work with government money,” Rep. Holt said. Several hundred billion dollars worth of tax code changes are also a part of it to spur consumer and business spending, he said.
Businesses will be able to immediately take large write-offs for depreciation of property and building improvements. For expensing, the bill “doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off,” Rep. Holt said.
Small Business Administration loans will be increased by almost $500 million, or 30 percent, under the legislation, Rep. Holt said. And funds will be earmarked for supporting technical innovation and small business innovation research, he said. Tax credits for hiring veterans and an enhanced 20 percent energy research and development credit are also a part of the House version, Rep. Holt said.
Rep. Holt said he was particularly pleased with, and took some credit for, the provision in the legislation for $15 billion in funding for new scientific research. Such funding benefits investment in research, in New Jersey and elsewhere, and “it also sews sows the seeds for future economic growth,” he said.
The legislative stimulus package, which the Senate is currently amending, “is a conglomeration of things; some people have even called it a mess,” Rep. Holt said.
”It is a mix. The direct spending I think is what is going to get people back to work the quickest and get the money out there,” Rep. Holt said.
At present, consumers “are holding on for dear life and not spending, and businesses similarly are not spending and couldn’t borrow even if they were thinking of spending,” he said.
”Anybody who says they know how to deal with this economic crisis, they are kidding themselves,” he said.
Rep. Holt invited those participating in the conference call and other Central Jersey businesses “to get your questions to me so you can get the detailed answers you need” on how to benefit from the stimulus package. He recommended logging on to his Web site — www.holt.house.gov — and sending an e-mail that way.
