Small businesses report enthusiasm about new tax breaks for hiring

There are a lot of polls out there indicating a ho hum attitude among small companies for some of the Obama administration’s latest moves to boost business. So, a new survey reporting significant bullish sentiment about the recent bill to provide tax breaks to small companies that hire  is worth noting.

Specifically, the survey from Manta, a small-business site, found that small businesses are quite happy, thank you very much, about the prospect of tax breaks.   Many of these firms–the study only included those with under 100 employees, so they really are pretty small–said they were likely to take advantage of  such incentives. According to the study, more than half (58%) of the 556 small business owners who responded believe that tax incentives will help boost the economy. And 52% say the tax breaks are likely to help their individual businesses.

The bill exempts businesses from paying the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax until Dec. 2010 if they hire people who have been unemployed for 60 days or more. It also offers employers a $1,000 credit if new hires stay with the company for a year.

The finding are supported by another recent  survey, this one from American Express OPEN Economic Pulse, which found that 51% of small businesses are more likely to hire because of access to tax credits.

There, however, is a but here. That study also said that the biggest incentive to hire (42% of respondents) would be increased business. Only 11% cited tax credits and 5%  pointed to access to financing.   The implication is that companies still feeling uncertain about demand might be hesitant to hire even with the tax credit.

Still, the results are encouraging. Perhaps those companies that are less jittery and feeling the need to increase staff will, indeed, take advantage of the tax break–and do so quickly, too.