Albany, N.Y., March 2 –State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) announced today that he is co-sponsoring legislation in the Senate to enact a new, comprehensive job creation strategy that he believes has been ignored as a way to help New York strengthen its economy, lower taxes, and begin to create thousands of jobs across upstate New York.
“I hear from constituents every single day, and what they want most from government right now is a serious plan to create jobs and cut taxes. This new Jobs Plan recognizes the importance of a strong-running, private-sector economic engine as one way to drive the job growth that can begin to get New York out of an economic crisis,” Winner said. “Less state spending, lower state taxes, and the elimination of job-killing state regulations need to be a part of this year’s state budget.”
Winner noted that with less than five weeks remaining before the April 1 start of the state’s new fiscal year, the Senate Republican Jobs Plan is the only comprehensive, concrete job creation strategy ready for immediate legislative action.
He added that plan provides incentives similar to those passed last week by the United States Senate, which also includes a tax credit for businesses that create new jobs.
Winner and his colleagues formally introduced their new Jobs Plan (S.6959) this week, which includes proposals to:
-- establish a permanent, Constitutionally mandated cap on state spending that would limit year-to-year spending increases to no more than four percent, a move that Winner said would have saved state taxpayers more than $13 billion if it had been in place over the past five years;
-- establish a new Job Creation Tax Credit offering businesses, manufacturers, and other private-sector employers a refundable tax credit of up to a maximum of $5,000 for every new job they create. The tax credit would be recurring for three years and would only be provided for new jobs that expand total payroll, equal to the amount of tax withholding for each new job. For example, a new job paying $30,000 would provide an employer with a tax credit of about $1,150;
-- enact a five-year moratorium on any new taxes or fees on small businesses, manufacturers, and farms; and
-- enact a five-year moratorium on any new, state-imposed business regulations and red tape, together with the creation of state-level commission to identify state rules and regulations that continue to stand as obstacles to sustained economic growth and job creation.
A report from the Tax Foundation last fall ranked New York’s business climate as the second-worst in America. Winner said that has to change.
“New York is widely viewed as a business unfriendly state. That directly hurts our workers and their families, and entire communities,” said Winner. “It has to change.”
