Tully Announces a Small Business Tax Credit and Calls it "Mom and Pop Tax Credit"

Democratic Assembly candidate Brendan Tully (99th AD) held a press conference on Monday, September 13 in Somers, and proposed a tax credit program to benefit small businesses. 

He called his plan the "Mom and Pop Opportunity Tax Credit", which is part of his "nine big idea for the 99th" platform, and will provide a state tax credit if you invest in small businesses, Tully said.

If enacted, the candidate said the credit will create  jobs and make New York more attractive to businesses. 

"Small business are the heart and soul of our local communities, and right now they need help," Tully said. " We are in a credit crisis, and banks have drastically reduced lending to small businesses. Without access to business loans, many small businesses have a hard time just getting by."

He said the Mom and Pop Tax Credit will give small business owners access to loans and credit, which would withstand a slow economy, but also expand to increase revenue and create jobs.

"New York lost more jobs than almost any other state in the last 12 months, and according to the Small Business Administration, the number of small businesses filing for bankruptcy went up by 34.5 percent in 2008," he said. "Despite all of this, Albany has ignored small businesses' needs. We deserve better, and the Mom and Pop Tax Credit will start to change that."

Tully explained the Mom and Pop Tax Credit would provide a tax credit for investments in small businesses. Then an independent fund would distribute the investment capital and given to small businesses, so they can survive the credit crisis, expand, and hire more local workers. 

The investment decisions must be made by professionals - not politicians - and would be based on business viability and return on investments, Tully said.

"We have to make investing in New York more attractive," he added. "The Mom and Pop tax Credit will do that."

Tully said he was confidant his plan would work, since it is based on a similar program on the Federal level that has been proven to work in other communities. Under the Federal program, for every $1 of tax credit that the government gave to investors, $12 had gone to local businesses. 

"New York will be one of the first state's in the country to use this type of innovative, job-creating tax credit, and it will have a huge and positive effect on our local economy by bringing together investors who are looking for smart investments and tax relief with the small business community that just needs a chance to turn their dreams into a reality," Tully said.

"The fact is, we need fresh ideas and a new way of approaching things if we are going to fix our current problems, because what Albany has been doing is not working," he added. "This plan does what our government should do:  implement new and innovative programs that are proven to work to get us through this economic crisis."

Tully, a Yorktown resident, is an attorney with Levy, Phillips & Konigsberg and represents veterans and workers who are sick from Asbestos. He lives in Yorktown with his wife Kelly.

The 99th Assembly district covers Yorktown, Somers, North Salem, Mahopac, Carmel, Southeast, Patterson, and Pawling.