Himes says stimulus may help businesses Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter
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As Congress continues to debate the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, local business groups have told U.S. Congressman Jim Himes (D-4) that they want small businesses to get the help they need to stay afloat, and for government spending to be reined in.
The bill, which is designed to serve as a stimulus package for the economy, will give an immediate boost to the economy through spending, Mr. Himes told a crowd at a breakfast meeting organized by the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce last Thursday. It has a five-year carryback for net operating losses, giving businesses more time to claim a loss and having the ability to reduce those net losses by 10%.
Tax breaks for businesses are a part of the bill to encourage long-term investment with short-term spending incentives, Mr. Himes added, but congressional Republicans are demanding more. He said there needs to be tax incentives for businesses, but they have to make sense.
“The reality is that some kinds of tax cuts and some spending can provide a stimulus and other kinds of tax cuts and spending do not provide a stimulus,” said Mr. Himes, a Cos Cob resident. “Small businesses employ the majority of people in the country and it’s fair and wise to look at ideas that will help small businesses keep and expand their staffs and help the people who own those small businesses.”
ALSO:
Financiers aim to spare schools from budget cuts
Written by Ken Borsuk, Staff Reporter
Facing a $5-million shortfall, the Board of Estimate and Taxation’s Budget Committee is looking for cuts, but aiming to avoid taking money from the public schools.
In December, the school board approved a $127-million budget, and while the possibility exists that cuts could be made to it, budget committee chairman Michael Mason said he hopes to avoid that, instead finding savings in other departments. The proposed townwide budget for 2009-10 is $341 million.
“You know we have a $5-million window,”Mr. Mason told school officials last week. “We’re going to be looking for help from other areas of the town to try and make all of this work,” he added.
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