Stimulus Law 4 entrepreneurs: Benefits Are Not Easy to Find
"Who has time to read it?" said Michael J. Fredrich, president of MCM Composites, a maker of highly engineered composite molding parts in Manitowoc, Wis.
Ethan Siegel, chief executive of Orb Audio, a maker of home theater speakers and systems, said his initial impression was that "there is nothing in here for me as a small-business owner."
But Mr. Siegel said that as he started to dig deeper, he found a provision that would increase loan guarantees for Small Business Administration lenders. That, he said, would make it easier for Orb, whose main office is in New York, to secure a line of credit. "With a line of credit we can do a lot more with the same amount of capital," he said, "which is exactly the purpose of the stimulus package."
Several other items also caught his eye, including one that offers a tax credit for businesses that hire disadvantaged workers like veterans and "disconnected youth," those who are not in school or working. That credit could be a tipping point between hiring and not, he said. "This is especially true since we build the speakers in the U.S.A., and the people with production skills can fall into these groups."
Business owners and their tax advisers are finding that a little detective work is needed to reap the full benefits of the law, which includes tax relief for businesses and individuals, as well as spending provisions.
Todd Flemming, chief executive of the Advantor Systems Corporation, a military contractor, for example, said he found spending allocated to military construction. His company, based in Orlando, Fla., makes and installs high-security systems at military installations worldwide. "That's spending that would be stimulative for us," he said.
Not everyone will be served directly, said Leonard Steinberg, who owns Steinberg Enterprises, a tax, financial and business advisory company in West Windsor, N.J. His clients, including mom and pop retailers, limited liability companies and S corporations — corporations that elect to have their income pass through to the shareholders — "won't see the benefits of the stimulus," he said.
Even so, tax specialists say, those companies may be aided indirectly by the tax relief for individuals, which will give workers more money to spend and will help certain taxpayers avoid the alternative minimum tax.
By MICKEY MEECE for The New York Times
