Hillary Clinton has proposed a number of policies that she said will make the wealthy and large corporations pay their "fair share," of the nation's tax burden, but she is also proposing a raft of tax benefits for small businesses.
The Democratic presidential candidate "knows that small businesses are the engine of the American economy — creating nearly two-thirds of new American jobs, fueling U.S. innovation, and offering crucial ladders to prosperity for hardworking entrepreneurs and families," declares her website.
The former secretary of state is proposing doubling the amount of capital expenses that small businesses can deduct from their taxes, from $500,000 to $1 million. And she is proposing quadrupling the deduction they can take for start-up costs, from $5,000 to $20,000.
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She also wants to create a "standard deduction" for small businesses, similar to the one already available to individual taxpayers. The idea is to make the tax filing process easier.
In addition, she is emphasizing that more employers should take advantage of a tax credit available to businesses that offer workers health insurance. Only a small percentage of the roughly 4 million small businesses in the country claim the credit.
Clinton has also spoken vaguely about "streamlining" regulations for small businesses, saying it "shouldn't take longer to start a small business in the United States than it does in Canada or Denmark."
And in a proposal aimed clearly at her Republican opponent, Clinton has said she is determined to crack down on big businesses that do not pay small businesses they contract with. Trump is notorious for not paying contractors and threatening litigation against contractors that demand payment.
Clinton has also floated a number of tax credits targeted at encouraging health care. She has proposed a $1,200 annual tax credit for family caretakers, including those looking after an elderly or ailing parent, if their out-of-pocket costs reach $6,000.
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