Obama to push for tax breaks for businesses

President Barack Obama will tout a proposal on Friday to provide tax relief for businesses, reviving a plan he proposed in September that would encourage companies to make capital investments.

Days before Republicans are expected to make major gains in congressional elections, Obama, a Democrat, will highlight a plan that has so far gained little political traction despite what the White House sees as having bipartisan appeal.

The proposal would let businesses of all sizes take immediate deductions for certain capital expenses between September of this year and the end of 2011.

Small businesses can currently deduct 50 percent of some capital investments immediately rather than accounting for the costs over time.

Obama is slated to make remarks after touring a business in nearby Beltsville, Maryland.

The Treasury Department is releasing a report on Friday that outlines the benefits of the proposal, administration officials said. The plan would provide $150 billion in tax relief to businesses over two years. It would cover some 2 million small and large companies.

Obama’s remarks indicate the White House’s intention to focus on the issue in the coming months even if Democrats lose majorities in one or both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s elections.

Obama administration officials expressed hope that Republicans would give the plan support.

“The last month or two, you haven’t seen as many Republicans coming out embracing ideas that the president’s putting forward and trying to discuss constructively how to move them forward,” one senior administration official told reporters.

“One would hope that in November, December, next year that people start looking at the underlying economic narrative proposals and coming together to move them forward.”
Source: Reuters