Cuomo pitches tax credits to help restaurants, small businesses rehire workers - syracuse.com

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Albany, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the state to spend $130 million to aid small businesses, restaurants and arts organizations devastated by Covid-19.

Cuomo today proposed several tax credits for those groups as part of his $193 billion state budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year. Restaurants were hit particularly hard by the economic collapse the pandemic brought about, Cuomo said during his budget address in Albany.

READ MORE: Cuomo’s budget would cut Syracuse aid by $3.6M, hike taxes on millionaires

“Even when other businesses reopened, we still restrained restaurants because of the social gathering aspect of the business,” he said. “They cooperated, but now it’s our responsibility to work with them to restore their businesses.”

Under the proposed budget, small businesses and restaurants would both be eligible for tax credits up to $5,000 per employee hired by the end of this year. Businesses and restaurants could claim up to $50,000 total, said Robert Mujica, state budget director.

To be eligible, businesses and restaurants would have to show they lost at least 40% of their revenue due to the pandemic. That’s meant to ensure the credits help those affected the most, Mujica said.

The restaurant credit is meant to help businesses that saw extended shutdowns, he added. It will be aimed specifically at eateries in the state’s red and orange coronavirus cluster zones, where indoor dining had been banned, and in New York City, where restaurant closures lasted longer than other regions.

Restaurants will also be able to get the cash from the credit in advance, before filing their taxes, Mujica said. The idea is to help restaurants that need money quickly.

The budget sets aside $50 million for the restaurant credit and another $50 million for the small business credit.

The budget proposal also includes up to $25 million for tax credits aimed at musical and theatrical productions in New York City. And it extends a tax credit for musical and theatrical productions outside New York City for four years and doubles it to $8 million.

The tax credits will cost over $130 million total if approved by the state Legislature.

Cuomo’s overall budget would cut money to local governments, slightly increase school aid and temporarily raise taxes on New York’s highest earners.

The city of Syracuse would lose $3.6 million in aid under the proposal.

The plan assumes the state gets at least $6 billion in coronavirus aid as part of President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 aid package.

At the same time, Cuomo is asking for much more from Congress and Biden to shore up the $15 billion hole left after the economic fallout from the virus. Cuomo is hoping for enough federal aid to fill that hole completely.

The tax credits for businesses are a priority, even if New York doesn’t get as much from Congress as it wants, Mujica said. Getting restaurants and other businesses open again ultimately helps the state’s economy in the long run.

“The faster it happens, it helps the state’s revenue numbers, but more importantly, it gets people back to work,” Mujica said.

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Cuomo pitches tax credits to help restaurants, small businesses rehire workers - syracuse.com
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