Legislation To Help Local Businesses On Long Island Proposed

HUNTINGTON, NY — A series of state legislative proposals intended to help small businesses on Long Island was unveiled Monday by New York State Assemblyman Steve Stern and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.

The announcement was held at Bon Bons Chocolatier, a local family-owned business found in the heart of downtown Huntington for 40 years, just prior to Small Business Saturday, which encourages consumers to shop locally at the start of the holiday shopping season.

"Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy," Stern said according to a press release. "They employ half of New York’s private sector workforce and generate nearly $190 billion in payroll receipts, according to the Small Business Administration. Given these statistics, it is imperative that New York State move forward with a business-friendly agenda that supports local economies and fosters our suburban neighborhood quality of life."

The business-friendly agenda, which will be up for consideration when the State Legislature re-convenes in January, includes the following legislative proposals:

• Small Business Income Tax Exemption Expansion: increases the corporate tax
  threshold by $100,000 for businesses and farms that employ at least one person and lowers the rate from 6.5 percent to four percent. Coupled with other incentives, these changes are estimated to save small businesses $300 million statewide (A.6309).
• New York State Innovation Voucher Program: provides direct funding to eligible small businesses with dollar-for-dollar matching funds to acquire expertise from local colleges and universities, government laboratories and public research institutes and facilitate innovation and job creation in New York State (A.45).
• Reducing Commuting Costs And Business Expenses Through Tax Incentives: designed to enable workers to offset commuting costs (by as much as $265 per month) and save employers through reduction of payroll tax liability; this plan may also reduce traffic congestion and pollution by incentivizing mass transit (A.7264).
• Small Business Tax-Deferred Savings Account Program: allows small businesses with 50 or fewer employees to deposit profits into a tax-deferred savings account to incentivize both job creation and economic development in New York State (A.7693).
• Future Of Work Commission: to study and research the impact of technology on
  workers, employers and the economy of the State of New York and develop a plan to keep the state’s economy competitive, durable, equitable and sustainable while protecting and strengthening middle-class jobs for a new generation of New Yorkers (A.8446).

The proposals all represent what Stern's office called ‘outside the box’ approaches to help existing businesses remain open, as well as attract new ones through a blend of tax incentives, collaborations with colleges, universities and research institutions, and proactive anticipation of new technological advancements.

"Small businesses are vital to our downtown communities," Bellone said. "Not only are they the backbone of our local economy, they are what makes Long Island such a vibrant place to live, work and raise a family. "The new measures Assemblyman Stern has laid out will help strengthen our brick and mortar shops and ensure they have the tools and resources they need to thrive."

In addition to the owners of Bon Bons, the officials were joined by a host of local chambers of commerce and business advocacy organizations including representatives from the Long Island Association, Long Island Business Council, Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Suffolk County Alliance of Chambers of Commerce, Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce and Melville Chamber of Commerce.