McCain - A Leader We Can Believe in to Help Small Businesses

Today, John McCain Outlined His Agenda For Getting Our Economy Back On Track By Helping Small Businesses. As president, John McCain's goal will be to get our economy running at full strength again. This starts by supporting small businesses across America which account for about half of all jobs in the private sector.

· Small Businesses Can Make The American Economy Run Again. Small businesses take the risks, often with little start-up money. Small businesses do most of the innovating and hiring in this country. For Americans of every background, small businesses are the path to success.

· This Is A Change Election That Offers The Small Business Community A Very Distinct Choice. On issues like tax policy, health-care reform, trade and spending, John McCain and Barack Obama offer very different choices to the American people with very different consequences for American workers and small business owners. In 2009, there will be change in Washington, but the question is what kind of change? Will we enact the single largest tax increase since the Second World War as Barack Obama proposes, or will we keep taxes low for families and employers?

A Vision For Promoting Small Business Growth To Create A Better Economy:

As President, John McCain Will Act Quickly And Decisively To Promote Growth And Opportunity. He will keep the current low income and investment tax rates and pursue tax reform that supports the wage-earners and job creators who make this economy run. To help American companies compete in international markets and keep jobs in this country, John McCain will reduce the corporate tax rate from the second highest in the world to one on par with our trading partners.

John McCain Will Increase The Ability Of American Workers To Benefit From International Trade. John McCain will break down foreign trade barriers so America's small businesses can compete abroad. The strength of the American economy offers a better life to every society we trade with, and the good comes back to us in many ways -- in better jobs, higher wages, and lower prices. In the past few years, small businesses have made up close to 97 percent of all identified exporters. Trade can also give once troubled and impoverished nations a stake in the world economy, and in their relations with America.

· John McCain Will Act To Help Displaced Workers. John McCain is committed to making reforms that expand and improve federal aid to American workers in need. We need to help millions of workers who have lost a job that won't come back find a new one that won't go away.

· Barack Obama Talks Down The Value Of Our Exports And Trade Agreements. He proposes a unilateral re-negotiation of NAFTA -- an agreement that accounts for 33 percent of American exports. John McCain will honor its international agreements, including NAFTA, and he expects the same of others. In a time of uncertainty for workers, we will not undo the gains of years in trade agreements now awaiting final approval.

John McCain Will Act To Reform The Tax Code. He has proposed permitting the first-year expensing of new equipment and technology. He will keep the low rate on capital gains, proposes doubling the child tax exemption and phasing out the Alternative Minimum Tax to save more than 25 million middle class families as much as $2,000 in a single year.

· Small Businesses Have A Clear Choice Concerning The Estate Tax. Barack Obama proposes to increase the estate tax to a top rate of 55 percent. The estate tax is one of the most unfair tax laws and John McCain will act to keep it low. After a lifetime building up a business and paying taxes, the business asset should not be subjected to a confiscatory tax.

John McCain Will Make The Tax Code Simpler, Flatter And Fairer. As president, he will propose an alternative tax system. All who wish to file under the current system could still do so, but everyone else could choose a vastly less complicated system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Small businesses should not be subjected to thousands of pages of needless and often irrational rules and demands from the IRS.

· Barack Obama's Economic Plan Will Further Burden Small Businesses. Currently, there are 21.6 million sole proprietorships filing under the individual income tax, and Barack Obama's plan to raise income tax rates on those making over $250,000 includes these businesses as well. He also proposes increases in dividend and capital gains taxes. His proposal to eliminate the Social Security earnings cap will increase the tax on employers. Barack Obama proposes to eliminate the secret ballot for union votes, and to raise the minimum wage and index it.

To Help Small Businesses And Employers Afford Health Care, John McCain Will Bring The Rising Cost of Care Under Control And Give People The Option Of Having Personal, Portable Insurance. John McCain's health care reform will help to make health insurance more affordable for every American. His plan offers every individual and family a large tax credit to buy their health care, so their health insurance is theirs to keep even when they move or change jobs. John McCain's plan allows those who want to stick with employer provided health insurance to do so.

John McCain Will Be Vigilant In Holding Corporate Abuses To Account. Americans are right to be offended when extravagant CEO salaries and severance deals bear no relation to their company's success or shareholders' wishes. As president, John McCain will see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. Under his reforms, all aspects of a CEO's pay, including severance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders.

John McCain Will End Wasteful Government Spending In Washington. John McCain will veto every bill with earmarks. He will seek a constitutionally valid line-item veto to end pork-barrel spending once and for all. John McCain will lead broad reforms that remove the many corporate tax loopholes that are costly, unfair to small businesses, and inconsistent with a free-market economy.

· John McCain Will Veto Any Bill That Serves Only The Special Interests And Corporate Welfare. On his watch, there will be no more subsidies for special pleaders, no more corporate welfare and no more throwing around billions of the people's money on pet projects.

· John McCain Will Order A Thorough Review Of Every Federal Program, Department And Agency. The results of this review will be posted on the Internet for every American to see. While the review is underway, he will institute a one-year pause in discretionary spending increases with the necessary exemption of military spending and veterans benefits. John McCain will ensure federal spending serves the common interests, that failed programs are not rewarded but reinvented or ended, and that discretionary spending is going where it belongs.