U.S. business plans for stimulus
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issues a report today on the state of American business. The Chamber has its own changes that it wants to see in the economic stimulus plan. John Dimsdale explores a few of them.
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Steve Chiotakis: I guess it goes without saying that the state of American business isn't very good. But today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will issue a report on it anyway. Business owners say a little stimulus help will go a long way. Here's Marketplace's John Dimsdale.
John Dimsdale: The Chamber wants eight business tax reductions and accounting changes in the economic stimulus package. Those include lower taxes on earnings from abroad, faster depreciation of new investments, and cutting corporate capital gains taxes from 35 [percent] to 15 percent.
Bruce Josten is the Chamber's executive vice president:
Bruce Josten: To generate economic activity, to spur investment, to help retain and create jobs and importantly to help generate federal tax revenues, another idea we've put on the table for Congress to consider.
But Roberton Williams at the Tax Policy Center wonders whether businesses are just trying to profit from the government rescue.
Roberton Williams: The stimulus provides a vehicle for getting those benefits. The question is whether we can force them into forms that will have a positive effect and not just be a giveaway to the recipient firms.
Without tax relief, the Chamber says businesses won't have the money to grow the economy.
In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace.
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