Cuomo to announce small biz tax cuts, $100M downtown fund

ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday plans to propose a series of small business tax cuts and a $100 million fund to revitalize ailing downtowns in New York.

Cuomo will make the announcement Tuesday afternoon in downtown Rochester as he starts to roll out his 2016 agenda in advance of his State of the State address and state budget release on Jan. 13.

The proposed small business tax cuts come as the Democratic governor is seeking a $15 an hour minimum wage, which has been opposed by companies, particularly small businesses.

Cuomo hinted last year that small businesses would need help if the state boosts the minimum wage.

His proposal would expand small business tax cuts that Cuomo first implemented in 2011 and impact more than 1 million businesses. The latest proposal is expected to save small businesses nearly $298 million annually, according to details obtained by Gannett's Albany Bureau.

For small businesses that file under the corporate tax code and have fewer than 100 employees with net income below $390,000, Cuomo's plan would reduce the net income tax rate from the current 6.5 percent to 4 percent. It would be effective Jan. 1, 2017.

Many small business owners file their taxes through the personal income tax. So Cuomo's plan would expand from 5 percent to 15 percent the percentage of income that they could exclude from their income taxes.

For the downtown initiative, Cuomo plans to propose to invest $100 million in 10 communities for housing, economic development, transportation and community projects.

The projects would be one for each of the 10 regional councils. Each council would select one community "that is currently experiencing population loss and/or economic decline" and recommend projects that would turn around the area.

The selections would be due in April to the state as part of the regional council process, which doles out more than $700 million each year to the 10 regions.