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President Trump and congressional Republicans have vowed to cut taxes, simplify returns and stimulate business growth. With many details to be fleshed out and negotiated, entrepreneurs are hoping for tax changes to encourage business start-ups, which have been sluggish. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says creation of new businesses hit about 679,000 in 2015, up from the Great Recession low of 561,000 in 2010 but still shy of the record 716,000 in 2006. Even worse, jobs created by businesses less than one year old, though rising in recent years, have lagged, hitting about 3 million in 2015 compared to more than 4.7 million a year in 1998 and 1999. In fact, many "new businesses" created in recent years are really just one-person shops set up by individuals who have lost their jobs, says Enrolled Agent Steven J. Weil, president of RMS Accounting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With no employees, they're not helping to build employment. More from Upstart 25:

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Tax cuts

Most start-up experts endorse Trump's campaign proposal to cut the business tax rate to 15 percent. Currently, corporations face a top rate of 35 percent, while owners of many small businesses — typically set up as sole proprietorships, limited liability companies, partnerships or S corporations — pay income-tax rates topping out at 39.6 percent, plus a 3.8 percent Medicare surtax to fund Obamacare. Slashing business taxes could spur start-ups by raising after-tax earnings, making it worthwhile for prospective entrepreneurs to give up regular salaries to strike out on their own, says accountant Dominique Molina, founder of the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners.

The self-employment tax is another obstacle to start-ups, since an entrepreneur has to pay both the employer and employee's share, says Tom Wheelwright, CEO of ProVision Wealth of Tempe, Arizona. "An employee pays 7.65 percent in Social Security tax. As soon as she becomes self-employed, that rate doubles to 15.3 percent, and when she starts earning real income, Obamacare raises that rate to 16.2 percent," he says. "Reducing or eliminating that extra self-employment tax would be huge for new entrepreneurs."

Faster deductions

Molina and others interviewed would also like businesses large and small to be able to deduct the cost of new assets, like equipment in the year they are purchased instead of spreading them over decades through depreciation allowances. The tax code, she says, is not kind to start-up costs, like feasibility studies and expenses for things like professional advice. "Under the current guidelines, just $5,000 of (this type of ) expense can be deducted in the year incurred, while the remainder is deducted over a 15-year period," she says. "In the event costs exceed $50,000, taxpayers may not even be able to deduct the entire $5,000 of first-year expenses."

Equal treatment for equity and debt

Start-ups typically have little or no track record and may lose money for years, making it hard to borrow significant sums. So many raise money instead by selling stock. The tax code allows deductions for interest paid on debt but nothing comparable for stock, putting the stock-dependent start-up at a disadvantage. The Tax Policy Center, a think tank devoted to tax issues, has found that partnerships, S corporations and other tax structures commonly used by start-ups face an effective marginal tax rate of 20 percent on stock, while a corporation using debt has a rate of –6 percent, meaning the tax code effectively subsidizes companies using debt.

A level playing field