In 2011, the Kauffman Foundation presented a proposal of ideas we called the Startup Act that offered policy reforms to make it easier for new firms to start and grow. Some of these ideas informed the development of the Startup Act legislation brought forth by Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) in December 2011.
Today, Moran and Warner, along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), unveiled the Startup Act 2.0. A press release from the Kauffman Foundation is available here. More information about the legislation is available on Moran's website (press release; interactive media).
**Update: Video from the press conference embedded below.
Excerpt from Moran's release describing provisions in the legislation:
- Creates a new STEM visa so that U.S.-educated foreign students, who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, can receive a green card and stay in this country where their talent and ideas can fuel growth and create American jobs;
- Creates an Entrepreneur’s Visa for legal immigrants, so they can remain in the United States, launch businesses and create jobs;
- Eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas – which hinder U.S. employers from recruiting the top-tier talent they need to grow;
- Makes permanent the exemption of capital gains taxes on the sale of startup stock held for at least five years – so investors can provide financial stability at a critical juncture of firm growth;
- Creates a targeted research and development tax credit for young startups less than five years old and with less than $5 million in annual receipts. This R&D credit is designed to allow startups to offset employee taxes – freeing up resources to help these young companies expand and create jobs;
- Uses existing federal R&D funding to support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge research to the marketplace more quickly where it can propel economic growth;
- Requires all government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed “major rules” with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This new requirement will help determine the efficacy of regulations and their potential impact on the formation and growth of new businesses; and
- Directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports on new business formation and the entrepreneurial environment, lawmakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship with the most successful policies.
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