By Nathan Van Ness, Xerox Corp.
Now that we’ve had more than a week to shake the post-holiday blues and settle back into the workplace groove, I think the timing’s appropriate to discuss the ways in which the recently passed “Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012” might impact America’s small businesses.
By no means is this a backdoor attempt to shove politics into our happy little blog. But because we’re here to provide tips, 
helpful information and food for thought for small-business owners, we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least comment on what the future might hold for small businesses as a result of Congress’ 11th hour agreement to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”
A quick search online uncovers countless reports and opinions on what the deal means for small businesses. And of course the voices that disparage the Act typically lean right, while the advocates are aligned more leftward.
But I’m more interested in the facts minus the political spin, and on Entrepreneur.com I found what I consider a solid overview of specific parts of the Act that relate directly to small businesses.
I recommend reading the whole article, but here’s one excerpt that I found especially noteworthy:
“…the fiscal cliff deal involves a 5 percentage-point increase in the capital-gains tax rate imposed on the highest earners. This provision will reduce the amount of equity financing flowing to small companies. By cutting the after-tax take of equity investors, Congress has lowered the incentive of investors to provide financing. At the margin, some companies that would have attracted angel and venture-capital investment in 2012 will not be able to get financing in 2013. While only a small number of companies will lose out on this investment — angels and venture capitalists tend to finance relatively few U.S. businesses — those companies tend to generate a disproportionate number of jobs.”
That’s of particular interest to me because so much of the small-business activity here in the greater Portland, Ore., area, as well as in my hometown of Seattle, is the result of high-tech start-ups receiving angel and/or venture capital financing. Had start-up financing been as limited in 1999 as it is today, it’s likely that I wouldn’t have landed my first post-college, career-oriented job at a Portland-based online retailer that relied almost entirely on venture capital to fund its hiring.
Regardless of the extent to which you expect the Taxpayer Relief Act to affect your small business, I think it’s safe to say that we’re still in an economic climate that requires a disciplined approach to business expenditures. So on that note I’ll share links to two services offered by Xerox that help small businesses affordably acquire and maintain their printers and MFPs.
Check out “Xerox FreeColorPrinters” and learn more about how we’re helping make color printing affordable for small businesses and organizations.
And if you’re already a Xerox customer—or even if you use a printer or MFP from one of our competitors—you still can take advantage of fast and easy online supplies ordering through our free eConcierge program.
