Lawmakers Pass Legislation Waiving Taxes On Small Business Recovery Grants

Last week, the New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation proposed by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to affects mall businesses from Harlem to the Hudson.

The legislation was also introduced by State Senator Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills) and Assemblymember Erik Dilan (D-Brooklyn), S.7230/A8033, which exempts funds awarded through the State’s $800 million COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program from State income taxes.

The Small Business Recovery Grant Program, established in the recently enacted New York State Budget, provides flexible grants to qualifying small businesses between $5,000 and $50,000.

The program is now accepting applications at nysmallbusinessrecovery.com.

Senator Anna M. Kaplan, Chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development, and Small Business said “the pandemic has been devastating to New York’s small business community, and they need our help if they’re going to survive these challenging times. I fought hard to include $800 million in the State budget for a Small Business Recovery Grant Program because I believe this kind of support is vital to keeping our small businesses open and thriving. Now that the program is up and running, we need to make sure that we’re stretching every dollar for the biggest impact and the strongest economic recovery possible, and by removing state taxes from these grants, we’re putting more money into the small businesses who need it most.”

The legislation, S.7230/A8033, will

• Provide an exemption from the corporate franchise tax for grants received under the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program
• Provide an exemption from personal income tax for grants received under the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program

The legislation passed both houses of the legislature unanimously, and the Senate delivered the legislation to the Governor’s desk on June 11 for his signature.