Small business

Small business is casting a wary eye at its prospects over the next four years.

While the sector has been championed as a job-producing machine that can help revive the nation’s lumbering economy, owners of small businesses have voiced concern over a tax and regulatory environment they say could stifle their ability to grow their companies and to add employees.

“The takeaway from this election is that if you are a small business owner in this state or this country, barring a tip to the center, it will be more expensive and complicated to operate,” said Kyle Jackson of the National Federation of Independent Business chapter in Georgia.

“A lot of small business owners, rightfully so, think there’s a tax increase train coming.”

While the outcome of the elections might not have gone the way some small business owners would have liked, the results did provide some predictability.

“If there’s anything the private sector hates, it’s uncertainty,” said Jackson. “It’s impossible to plan for things when it’s so uncertain.”

More of Georgia’s coalfired power plants could shut down if Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency is able to enforce stricter pollution regulations over the next four years.

Environmental advocates say that will lead to cleaner air. Others warn that forcing utilities to close too many plants too soon will drive up customer bills and prevent industries from doing business in Georgia.

“I’ve been very clear that I think the EPA has been overreaching to the disadvantage to the families that we serve in Georgia. It’s chilling companies’ ability to invest,” said Tom Fanning, chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns four utilities including Georgia Power.

Colleen Kiernan, president of the Sierra Club’s Georgia chapter, said she hopes to see Georgia’s utilities use more natural gas especially because prices are low. But Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise said natural gas plants could be a costly alternative.

Meanwhile, Georgia Power is building two nuclear reactors, the first in the United States to be built from scratch in 30 years. Wise said he hopes the Obama administration continues its support for the nuclear industry so more reactors can be built in Georgia.