TAX NEWS - JUNE 2010

New York Tax: Hinchey touts small-business tax break

NEWBURGH — Small businesses on the cusp of adding staff should check out the incentive offered by the federal government under a recently passed bill, said Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley.

He used Active Ventilation Products, a manufacturer of roof ventilation products, including some that are wind- or solar-powered, as the backdrop for a Thursday news conference.

The HIRE act, which Hinchey supported, provides a payroll tax exemption for each worker hired this year who has been unemployed for at least 60 days.

The longer the new worker stays on the payroll, the greater the tax break.

There is an extra $1,000 income tax credit for each new employee retained for 52 weeks.

Active Ventilation employs 17 and plans to add two people in the coming weeks and take advantage of the credits, he said.

The business is owned and run by the Kolt family.

Martin Kolt, an executive, said in a statement that a big problem for small businesses has been access to loans. Lines of credit became hard to get in the wake of the national fiscal crisis.

To address this problem, last week Hinchey helped the House pass the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, which would provide $500 million for small-business lending.

That would extend parts of the federal stimulus program to eliminate certain fees on Small Business Administration loans.

It would encourage banks to lend to small businesses by raising to 90 percent the portion of a loan that the Small Business Administration will guarantee.

The legislation awaits consideration by the Senate, Hinchey said.

The federal stimulus program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, also provides some business tax credits and incentives to increase cash flow, reduce debt, spur investment and thus help create jobs, Hinchey said.

Hinchey was joined by Vincent Cozzolino, CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium, based in Lake Katrine, which has helped Active with development of its solar products.