New York Needs Small Business: NFIB State Director in Empire Page Interview

ALBANY, NY (03/22/2009)(readMedia)-- Small business owners can play a major role in helping New York ride out the current economic crisis according to Mike Elmendorf, NYS director of National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), in an interview published today on the Empire Page. "They can't do that if they are saddled with even higher taxes, new mandates and additional burdens and costs," Elmendorf stated.

NFIB would like to see further reductions in Governor Paterson's proposal to raise $4 billion in taxes and fees. Although $1.3 billion has been removed from the original proposal, Elmendorf argues any taxes or fees will "increase costs on virtually every business and individual in New York, and are exactly the wrong policy at the wrong time."

NFIB members reject the call for increasing personal income taxes. Higher taxes "will reduce [small business owners'] operating capital, which will in turn reduce their ability to hire, expand or buy new equipment—and in some cases, even survive," Elmendorf stated."

After polling its members, NFIB also came out in opposition to Governor Paterson's plan to allow grocers and convenience stores to sell wine. "Most of our members viewed this as a proposal that would be bad for small business, and that's reflected in the position they ultimately took," Elmendorf said.

The Improving New York section of the Empire Page explores solutions to New York's government-related problems. Future interviews will focus on alternative energy, local government reform and criminal justice reform.

The Empire Page is published by PoliticalNewsToday.com, LLC, which seeks to provide information and opinion on the key issues of the day through websites that aggregate news and opinion and provide useful content for people active in government and politics. The partnership consists of Peter G. Pollak, who is the majority shareholder and actively manages the company, Schwartz-Heslin Group and Wynantskill Capital.