Senators Baldwin and Hoeven Introduce Bipartisan Tax Reform to Boost Small Business Start-Up Growth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Hoeven (R-ND) introduced bipartisan tax reform legislation today that would support small business start-up growth around the nation.

“Wisconsin has a proud history of entrepreneurship and innovation, but recent reports show that we need to do more to support our Made in Wisconsin start-ups,” said Senator Baldwin. “Wisconsin’s small businesses need a tax break and that's what I'm working for. Small businesses are the engines of our economy and if we provide tax relief to start-ups, we can free up investments to create jobs and grow our economy.”

“Entrepreneurs and small businesses are the engine that drives our economy, creating jobs and opportunities in communities nationwide,” said Senator Hoeven. “Our legislation enables entrepreneurs to deduct more of the start-up costs for their business, which in turn will allow them to invest these dollars in making their business a success. That’s good for our entrepreneurs, their employees and the economy.”

New businesses and entrepreneurial ventures are an important source of job creation in the United States. New business start-ups have accounted for close to 30 percent of new jobs in the United States each year since 2011. Despite what we know about new businesses driving job growth, start-up rates are declining across all sectors of the U.S. economy, and these new businesses are generating fewer jobs than their predecessors.

More needs to be done to lower the cost of starting a new business. According to the Kauffman Foundation, one of the country’s leading entrepreneurship advocacy and research organizations, from 2014 to 2018, Wisconsin had a lower rate of new entrepreneurs compared to states with similar populations. Wisconsin also ranked below neighboring states in the average number of jobs created by start-ups in their first year. 

The bipartisan Support Our Start-Ups Act will:

• Increase the start-up deduction for new small businesses from $5,000 to $20,000, allowing small business owners to put money back into their business sooner, creating jobs and growing our economy.
• Increase the deduction’s phase-out threshold from $50,000 to $120,000; and,
• Extend the start-up tax deduction to organizational expenditures and ensure businesses can benefit regardless if they are organized as a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship.

The Support Our Start-Ups Act is supported by stakeholder organizations and businesses around the nation, including in Wisconsin and North Dakota. Those supportive of the legislation include the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Main Street Alliance, Engine, Startup Wisconsin, Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation, Gener8tor, Red Letter Grants and Emerging Prairie in North Dakota.

“Entrepreneurs tell us that legislation like Senator Baldwin’s Support Our Start-Ups Act will help ease the personal financial burden placed on entrepreneurs who are the backbone of America's economic growth engine,” said Matt Cordio, Co-Founder & President of Startup Wisconsin.

“We applaud this bipartisan effort by Senator Baldwin and Senator Hoeven to encourage and support entrepreneurs through this important legislation,” said Joe Kirgues, Co-Founder of gener8tor.

“At Emerging Prairie we work to empower entrepreneurs to develop thriving businesses. No matter how great the idea they are founded upon, start-up businesses are often most vulnerable in their early years due to financial stress. This bill would work to remove these barriers - increasing their resiliency,” said Greg Tehven, Co-Founder and CEO of Emerging Prairie in North Dakota.

More information is available here.