The New York State Assembly Committees on Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce and Industry and Small Business invited NFIB to testify at a hearing in Albany on October 8th to discuss the impact and effectiveness of the state’s economic development programs. NFIB’s testimony highlighted the state’s questionable track record on economic development strategy, supporting pro-small business priorities, addressing the state’s outstanding Unemployment Insurance debt, and stemming the wave of pay frequency lawsuits. According to the testimony, “generating a thriving economy does not require billions in subsidies and headline-grabbing projects, but also relies on creating a better business environment with lower taxes, fewer regulations, and more affordable insurance. Addressing the outrageous frequency of pay lawsuits, tackling burdensome UI taxes, and reforming economic development tax incentives and grants would be a step in the right direction to create an economy that supports small businesses. A prosperous state is only possible if Main Street is alive and well. This will require improving New York’s overall business climate, disciplined and deliberate economic policy, transparency, accountability, eliminating waste, and abandoning picking winners and losers.”
The hearing was covered by multiple media outlets across the state, including Spectrum News’ focus on the state’s outstanding Unemployment Insurance debt: Biz experts push N.Y. to pay $6B unemployment insurance debt (spectrumlocalnews.com)
