Hannon: Job Creation Top Priority This Year

Earlier this week, Senator Kemp Hannon announced a major initiative that would help New York's struggling small businesses, rewarding them with a three-year tax credit of up to $5,000 for every new job created and placing a moratorium on new taxes, fees and regulations that the senator says is "killing private sector job-creation efforts."

The plan also calls for the elimination of taxes for small businesses and manufacturers that pay New York's corporate franchise tax and a roll back of the income tax surcharge placed on these businesses last year.

"The loss of jobs across the state is a top priority for New Yorkers, and thus, the creation of jobs must be a top priority on our legislative agenda this year," said Senator Hannon.      

The tax credit would only be provided for new jobs that expand total payroll, equal to the amount of tax withholding for each new job, Senator Hannon said.

"For example, a new job paying $30,000 would provide an employer with a tax credit of about $1,150. A job paying $50,000 would provide a $2,500 tax credit," the senator said.

The initiative intends to put New Yorkers back to work through real incentives.

"The passage of this plan is crucial for the people of New York," he said, adding that the state lost 269,000 jobs last year and another 40,000 projected.

Althea Robinson, executive director of the Garden City Chamber of Commerce, said, "This looks like a great program to help small businesses throughout Long Island. As for Garden City, the Garden City Chamber of Commerce has been directing their effects through its newly formed Merchants Group to keep our residents and office workers shopping in Garden City and directing an advertising campaign to attract potential customers from neighboring communities."

The Merchants Group is a grass roots chamber sub-committee formed by a number of independent Garden City retail establishments.

Their collective goal, as stated in the group's mission statement, is to continue developing "an ongoing advertising and marketing campaign to encourage Garden City residents and members of the business community, to direct their consumer dollars to core village businesses; additionally, to create a marketing campaign to draw consumer dollars from neighboring communities."