January 31st, 2008 by Wade Mann
No government intervention is going to save a struggling business. Those businesses who continue to fail to innovate with great new technologies like Internet fax will certainly continue to fail.
But the government is doing their best to help struggling companies stay afloat with the new stimulus package. This could be very important for specific businesses that would be strong otherwise, but do to certain economic factors, are particularly struggling—the real estate industry comes quickly to mind.
Fortune magazine reports:
“First and foremost, the Senate bill, proposed by Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), would extend a helping hand to businesses facing large operating losses in either the 2006 or 2007 tax year, allowing them to write off those losses against gains as far as five years back, rather than the current two-year limit.”
This comes as handsome news to the aforementioned businesses that are struggling. I was concerned that all of the talk of giving tax refunds to the poor and middle class were ignoring businesses that might need that extra boost to keep afloat during the slow-down.
I was pleased to see that there will be a total of $31 billion given out in tax savings to business owners in 2008. Let’s hope the bill is quickly ratified.
Relevant Tags:economy, Internet Fax, Senate, small businesses, stimulus package
January 25th, 2008 by Wade Mann
MSN.com reports that many millions of families are going to be receiving a tax rebate this year.
“The one-time tax rebates are at the center of a hard-won agreement to pump about $150 billion into the economy this year and perhaps stave off the first recession since 2001.”
This comes as good news to business people worried about a sketchy economic forecast. The hope is that a huge influx of cash given to lower to middle income families will give the economy a needed boost. The assumption is that giving the money to these groups where it will get spent will prime the pump so to speak and get things moving along.
Many economists question whether such a move will really do the trick. Will an extra 600 bucks in your pocket really prevent a recession? If anything, the act by the government creates a feeling of optimism about the future, and investors like optimism. And when investors invest more money into the economy it’s likely to continue growing.
It was also announced that “Businesses would get $50 billion in incentives to invest in new plants and equipment.”
Hopefully many small businesses will receive this cash and take advantage of new technological advances like fax to email, making them more competitive in the world market, and more profitable.
Relevant Tags:economy, fax to email, small businesses, stimulus package
