Small businesses struggling to get cash for development have friends in the Idaho House. Lawmakers in the House voted 64-2 Wednesday to approve a bill that is designed to create jobs by encouraging investments in small business.
The legislation, the brainchild of House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, would give tax credits to those who choose to invest in companies with 20 or fewer employers. The tax credit would apply only to taxes on capital gains earned from the investment, but would offer a 50 percent reduction of taxes on those earnings.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Butch Otter, would be in effect for five years, beginning retroactively on Jan. 1, 2010, and ending on Dec. 31, 2014. Rusche told lawmakers that the sunset provision would allow lawmakers to examine the credit's effectiveness at the end of the time period.
The legislation, which enjoys bipartisan support, now heads to the Senate.
