(Washington, DC) - Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus announced today that President Obama had signed his Small Business Jobs Bill into law. The legislation is particularly important to Montana, where more workers are employed by small businesses than any other state.

"Small Businesses are the backbone of our economy and the key to creating good-paying jobs. And this is especially true in Montana, where more of our workers are employed by small businesses than any other state in the country," Baucus said. "I saw first-hand at our Economic Development Summit in Butte that Montana small businesses are full of real solutions and powerful ideas to grow our economy and create good-paying jobs. The Small Business Jobs Act will cut taxes, boost investment and give Montana businesses tools they need to put their ideas to work for our state."

Baucus introduced the Small Business Jobs Act in June to help create the economic conditions Montana businesses need to create jobs, with $12 billion in tax cuts and incentives to boost investment and make it easier for small businesses to get the capital they need to grow. Nearly four out of five employees in Montana work in businesses with fewer than ten workers. Three out of five employees in Montana work in businesses with fewer than five workers.

As author of the bill and chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Baucus shepherded the bill through the Senate and secured successful passage earlier this month. Baucus ensured the support in the Small Business Jobs Act is fully paid for and will not add a dime to the federal deficit. The President signed the Small Business Jobs Bill today after the House of Representatives passed it last week.

Key provisions in the bill include:

• $12 billion in tax cuts;
• 100 percent exclusion from capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses;
• A $10,000 tax deduction for start-up expenditures - doubling current levels;
• Increased Section 179 expensing, permitting up to $500,000 in capital investments that business can expense;
• New tools to help small businesses export which will leverage more than $1 billion in exports;
• Increased Small Business Administration (SBA) loan limits and improved access and lower costs for small business to access SBA loans;
• A targeted $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund to provide small community banks with capital to increase small business lending; and
• $1.5 billion in grants to support $15 billion in new small business lending through already successful state programs.

A complete summary and more information on the Small Business Jobs Bill that became law today is available on the Finance Committee website at: http://finance.senate.gov/legislation/details/?id=da799068-5056-a032-5229-92cebbd2b7a0.

Contact: Kate Downen (406) 224-5056/Jennifer Donohue (202) 224-2651

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