By Jennifer Haberkorn, Politico
The Senate voted Wednesday for the first time to repeal a piece of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, rolling back a new tax reporting requirement that’s been universally panned by business owners.
The amendment to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement passed 81-17 with broad bipartisan support.
The provision was one that Obama identified… Read more »
By Angus Loten, Wall Street Journal
As part of a broader effort to spur homegrown innovation, the Commerce Department this week announced a move to fast-track the patent process by allowing entrepreneurs to expedite U.S. reviews by paying a hefty fee.
Yet some in the patent industry fear the initiative might do more harm than good by giving money-rich companies an edge over start-ups… Read more »
By Dan Danner, The Washington Post
There are a lot of new faces in town.
Ninety-four, to be exact.
While these faces may be new in the halls of Congress, they are familiar in their hometowns -- and not from rope lines or television ads. No, they are familiar faces because they've been seen behind shop counters and in restaurant kitchens, driving pickups and tractors, because a good… Read more »
By Emily Maltby, Wall Street Journal
Reactions to President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Tuesday night were mixed in the small-business community.
Mr. Obama highlighted the important role small businesses play in the economy, singling out several small firms in particular, but didn't announce many proposals that are specific to them.
Broadly, Mr. Obama asked for a… Read more »
By Mark Drajem, Bloomberg
Members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet plan to travel across the U.S. this year seeking to persuade small businesses to engage in more international trade as part of the administration’s drive to double exports.
“For America to win the future, more small and medium- sized businesses must export,” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said in a statement. More… Read more »
By Justin Lahart, Wall Street Journal
Husband-and-wife business partners Matt and Rene Greff are on track to open the first out-of-state branch of their Michigan brewpub later this year—in Bangalore, India.
At Peter Frykman's Palo Alto, Calif., irrigation-equipment company, seven of the 20 employees are located outside the U.S., in China and India, while Gangesh Ganesan's… Read more »
By Robb Mandelbaum, New York Times "You're the Boss" Blog
Last week, President Obama signaled that he was ready to make the process of writing regulations friendlier to businesses, especially small businesses — and advocates for the nation’s small businesses are ready with suggestions.
Small-business lobbyists — from organizations that exclusively represent small concerns, as well as… Read more »
By Melanie Trottman; Wall Street Journal
The Labor Department Tuesday withdrew a proposal that would require companies to more carefully log workplace muscle sprains and strains, the latest result of the Obama administration's effort to respond to business concerns about federal regulation.
Employer groups had widely opposed the proposed recordkeeping change, saying it would put their… Read more »
By Paul Downs; New York Times "You're the Boss" Blog
Now that 2010 is complete, I can see what kind of help Obamacare — sorry, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — will give me with my health insurance bills. I mentioned in a previous post that my insurance rates for 2011 were a little lower than they had been in 2010 (although I expect them to resume their regular upward… Read more »
By Jonathan Alter; Bloomberg Business Week
We all know that small business is the engine of the U.S. economy. It accounts for almost two- thirds of all jobs created in the past decade.
But nowadays small business is recovering more slowly than big business. While capital spending at small firms is up, according to a PNC Bank survey, 60 percent of small-business owners are delaying… Read more »
