Small Business Job Protection Act Of 1996
Categories: Econ, Regulations
The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 was signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1996.
As the name suggests, it provided some tax relief for small businesses. As mega corps are growing faster and faster (and merging together), it became hard for Mom 'n' Pop shops to compete.
Cue: the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996.
Besides tax breaks for small businesses, the law also increased the minimum wage to increase take-home pay for workers (at the time; $5.15 per hour is now irrelevant) and increased incentives for employers to offer and maintain 401(k)s to their workers.
Getting down to brass tacks, the law increased the amount businesses could expense on taxes to a cool $25k. It also amended the work opportunity tax credit, and special rules and exemptions for S-Corporations.
Because we still like the little guys.
