Economy Gets Its Booster Shot
The stimulus law signed by President Bush provides what he called a “booster shot” to the economy, but the medicine might not be strong enough to ward off a recession.
The $168 billion package of personal tax rebates and business tax cuts will likely help shore up consumer spending later this year, economists say.
The stimulus law also includes business provisions. Effective for 2008, companies with less than $800,000 in annual capital investments can write off the first $250,000. That’s up from a prior limit of $128,000. Firms are also eligible to write off a “bonus” 50 percent of new investment this year. Dorothy Coleman of the National Association of Manufacturers says firms boosted investment after a similar measure in 2003.
“If a company is anticipating investing at some point in the near future … this is a powerful incentive to do it in 2008,” Coleman says.
Jason Furman, director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution, says Congress must still address issues like long-term unemployment. Lawmakers should also step up efforts to aid homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgages, Furman says.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments