Staten Island entrepreneurs applaud bills aimed to help small businesse

SILIVE - April 6, 2011

A series of bills aimed at aiding small businesses and promoting entrepreneurship by generating access to capital, creating tax-free savings accounts and expanding tax credits was advanced today by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as a means to spur job growth.

Meanwhile, she said she will continue to "work hand in glove" with state and city officials to streamline the often onerous permitting regulations that keep established businesses and start-ups here bogged down in "red tape."

Ms. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also said she wants a greater investment in the state's science parks to "turn ground-breaking academic research into viable businesses."

The state is still suffering from some 800,000 New Yorkers unemployed, including 370,000 in the city and 21,000 on Staten Island, according to the latest state Department of Labor findings.

"I know that government doesn't create jobs, businesses do," said the senator during a conference call with reporters. "But the lack of early capital from the poor economy holds us back. We need to support budding entrepreneurs, free up the credit they need to get their ideas off the ground and invest in the kind of research we can turn into cutting-edge businesses and new jobs."

To free up capital, Ms. Gillibrand said she wants to create "business incubators" with the help of $5 million in federal grants to support the development of early-stage small businesses in high-growth industries.

And with debt-financing hard to come by for small businesses in recent years, she also wants to give prospective entrepreneurs the ability to create a $10,000 annual tax-free savings account for capital and operating expenses.

Additionally, she is looking to provide a 25 percent tax credit to encourage private investors to support emerging small businesses in the fields of advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, clean energy and transportation.

Other Gillibrand initiatives include expanding and building new science parks at various universities in the state and fostering regional economic growth by awarding grants from $250,000 to $2.5 million to entities that develop cluster-based economic development strategies.

Staten Island business people said they liked what they heard when told of Ms. Gillibrand's ideas -- and hailed the Senate's repeal today of the 1099 reporting provision of the Obama health care reform act on the heels of the House's repeal last month. The measure awaits the president's expected signature.

Chamber of Commerce executive director Linda Baran called that "real good news."

If enacted, the 1099 provision would have meant a monumental "paperwork headache" for business owners, said Robert Cutrona, as well as "suffocate" start-ups by requiring cumbersome compliance filings.

Still, Cutrona, president of the Project One Services, Meiers Corners, said the federal tax code needs to be reformed. He said "legal loopholes" permit giant corporations and utilities to side-step tax obligations and foreign entities to pay less than 20 percent, while typical American small business owners take a 35 percent tax hit.

In addition, Ms. Baran said more needs to be done in the area of transportation infrastructure investments here to aid in small business development and lure entrepreneurs to the borough.

Meanwhile, Vincent D'Antuono, owner of the recently expanded Pastosa Ravioli, West Brighton, said it still comes down to basics for small businesses. He said the permitting process to place a new sign on his store's facade took nearly six weeks.

"It's our building," said D'Antuono. "It was ludicrous. It was three inches over (sized) and it had to be redesigned. It was a hassle."