House Rules Proposed legislation could ease the current restrictions on homebased businesses.

Antiquated tax regulations and zoning laws have prohibited or severely limited homebased business for the past two or three decades. However, the tide is starting to turn. A friendlier regulatory climate for homebased entrepreneurs is on the horizon, experts predict.

"Many of the laws on the books are outdated, written at a time when the majority of people went to work at major corporations outside the home," says Jim Blasingame, host of weekday radio talk show The Small Business Advocate Show and author of Small Business Is Like a Bunch of Bananas. "The laws have some catching up to do to reflect the new reality, which is that homebased business is a major growth segment for the economy. The good news is that legislators are beginning to realize this."

Chad Moutray, chief economist with the SBA Office of Advocacy, points out that "53 percent of businesses in the U.S. are homebased businesses. The explosion of the Internet has made it possible to do everything from home. Ten years ago, we couldn't even envision how this would change the economy or how great the pressure would be for regulatory change."