This week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., showcased his “American Innovation Act”, which he has pushed in recent years though he never has been able to get it across the finish line.
Buchanan’s bill would increase tax deductions for start-up costs from small business owners from $5,000 to $20,000. The bill also “increases the threshold for deductions from $50,000 to $120,000 for start-up expenditures like advertising, employees’ salaries and benefits, rent and utilities for their new office space.”
In 2018, the bill passed the U.S. House but the measure did not clear the U.S. Senate.
This week, Buchanan weighed in on why he brought the proposal back.
“As we work to recover from a devastating global pandemic and an overstimulated economy, American businesses are met with runaway inflation and a volatile job market,” said Buchanan this week. “In this environment, Congress needs to focus on making it easier for businesses to do what they do best – creating jobs, innovating and investing capital back into our communities.”
U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Penn, and Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, are co-sponsoring the bill.
Buchanan’s bill was sent to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. So far, there is no companion measure over in the U.S. Senate.
