If you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur – or dreaming of becoming one – there may be good news on the horizon for you and your business aspirations this year.

 President Barack Obama is focusing his 2011 economic recovery efforts on stimulating small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, the President’s new budget proposal includes a package of initiatives aimed at boosting small businesses and entrepreneurship, to include:

• Permanently eliminate capital gains taxes on certain investments in small businesses (making permanent a provision of the small business jobs act passed last September);
• Expansion of the New Markets Tax Credit, which encourages private sector investment in start-ups and small businesses operating in lower-income communities;
• Initiatives at the Small Business Administration, the Energy Department and the Veterans Administration aimed toward supporting startups and small firms;
• The Startup America initiative, a national campaign aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.

While most small business owners and entrepreneurs I know are a fairly independent lot and seldom wait for government assistance, it’s nice to know your contributions to the economy are not un-recognized. And, if there are a few tax breaks along the way, those would be helpful, too.