If you’re a small business owner, chances are you’ve been trying to figure out just how the recently approved economic stimulus bill will help you build your business during this tough economy.

When President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, there was a lot of talk about how this $787 billion shot-in-the-arm would stimulate individual and business spending and investment to revive the economy.

“We’re hoping that our members will use the tools available to them from the IRS and the Small Business Administration to find out the best way to take advantage of the incentives in the new law,” says Justin Nelson, co-founder and president the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. “The opportunities are there to be discovered.”

The SBA has launched a Web site to help small business owners maneuver through the complex law. The page offers fact sheets, a depreciation calculator and an online seminar to ease the process of adopting the new incentives.

“There’s a lot to digest in the legislation, and SBA has established teams to tackle a wide variety of policy decisions, system modifications, regulatory changes, legal requirements, and new program launches authorized by the President and Congress,” said Acting SBA Administrator Darryl K. Hairston.

The new stimulus act provides $730 million to the SBA and makes changes to the agency’s lending and investment programs so that they can reach more small businesses. The funding includes:

    * $375 million for temporary fee reductions or eliminations on SBA loans and increased SBA guaranteed shares, up to 90 percent for certain loans;

    * $255 million for a new loan program to help small businesses meet existing debt payments; and

    * $30 million for expanding SBA’s Microloan program, enough to finance up to $50 million in new lending and $24 million in technical assistance grants to micro-lenders.

Bill Gehrman, president of the Independence Business Alliance, Philadelphia’s Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, believes that small businesses will benefit from the massive investment in the overall economy.

“With most of the funds seemingly directed toward job creation related to construction, environmental “green” jobs and technology projects, more people will be put back to work and new jobs will be created,” says Gehrman. “Small businesses should feel the impact through increased expenditures by consumers and businesses.”

Gehrman said the IBA has been meeting with city leaders in Philadelphia to ensure that its members are aware of opportunities for them in the stimulus legislation. “We are working jointly to positively affect the economic impact of the stimulus and create a positive business environment for our members and the LGBT community,” he said.

Some of the other major provisions for small businesses in the act include:

    * Increased expense deductions for business. Small businesses can expense or write off certain qualified plant and equipment purchases during a calendar year. This is called a “Section 179 deduction.” Legislation approved in 2008 increased that deduction to $250,000 from $128,000 and increased the phase-out threshold to $800,000. Both these increases have been extended through 2009 in the new act.

    * Bonus depreciation. Small businesses can accelerate the costs of capital expenditures made in a certain year by allowing them to write off 50 percent of the cost of depreciable property acquired for use in the United States. The stimulus extends the 2008 allowance through 2009.

    * Other tax deductions. Investors in publicly incorporated small businesses that hold their stock for more than five years will see their capital gains tax reduced by the stimulus bill, and businesses will enjoy a delay in paying the 3 percent withholding tax on goods and services sold to governments.

    * Energy credits. Individuals and businesses would benefit from a number of energy incentives in the act, including increases in the Section 25C energy property credit and the Section 48 energy investment credit.

The NGLCC will be hosting a conference call with an expert from the Small Business Administration to discuss various opportunities available through the stimulus. For more information or to RSVP, please email supplierdiversity@nglcc.org.