U.S. small business sentiment rises to near all-time high

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. small business sentiment in November rose to near all-time high as the Republican-controlled Congress was close to pass a major tax overhaul, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported on Tuesday.

The index of small business optimism rose by 3.7 points to 107.5 in November, the second-highest reading in the 44-year history of the index and near the all-time high reached in July 1983, according to the NFIB.

Eight of the 10 components of the index posted gains, including a stunning 16-point gain in expected better business conditions and a 13-point jump in the measure of sales expectations, the NFIB said.

"The NFIB indicators clearly anticipate further upticks in economic growth, perhaps pushing up toward four percent GDP growth for the fourth quarter. This is a dramatically different picture than owners presented during the weak 2009-16 recovery," said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.

While there's still much uncertainty about health care and taxes, it appears that small business owners believe that "whatever Congress finally comes up with will be an improvement" and so they remain positive, the NFIB said.

The House of Representatives and Senate have separately passed their own version of tax reform that would significantly slash income taxes for corporates and individuals.

Congressional Republicans are now working on to reconcile the differences between the two versions, hoping to come to an agreement on a final tax legislation before Christmas.

However, Democrats and experts have criticized that the Republican tax legislation would mainly benefit the wealth and large corporations. Enditem