Legislative Information
Dear Chamber members:
Tomorrow evening (Thursday, December 17), the County Legislature will receive public comment on the Dutchess County budget, which includes a certain number of Executive vetoes from Dutchess County Executive Bill Steinhaus. The comment period will begin at 7pm and will take place on the 6th Floor of the County Office Building. Both the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and Greater Southern Dutchess Chamber of Commerce have been contacted by the County Executive to encourage public participation in the process.
Ann and I have talked at length about the proposed budget, in addition to the contents of the Executive vetoes. Indeed, difficult decisions must be made in order to protect the vital services our residents depend on, while meeting the onerous demands of the state and federal mandates that continue to force the county’s spending.
Please take a moment to contact your county legislators and the County Executive with your comments or concerns about the County’s budget. Both our business members and non profit partners have a great deal at stake as we continue to weather an increasingly difficult economy.
If you would like to contact your respect legislators click here or the County Executive.
Did you know that the U.S. Small Business Administration's America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program can provide up to $35,000 in short-term relief for viable small businesses facing immediate financial hardship to help ride out the current uncertain economic times and return to profitability?
Did you also know that out of 993 small businesses polled regarding whether they have taken advantage of this program, 77 percent had not?
In fact, 58 percent of the respondents were not even aware that these loans were made available since September under the U.S. Small Business Administration’s America Recovery Capital (ARC) Loan Program.
Each small business is limited to one ARC loan. ARC loans will be offered by some SBA lenders for as long as funding is available or until September 30, 2010, whichever comes first. To learn more, visit the SBA Web site.
Additionally, there is a substantial tax cut available for businesses that have hired veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. Young veterans face great challenges re-integrating into society, so an expansion of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) provides qualifying businesses to deduct 40 percent of the first $6,000 in salaries paid to them off their federal taxes.
In order to apply for this credit, businesses need to certify their new hires with the New York State Department of Labor, using IRS form 8850 by going to www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8850.pdf. Business that have already hired eligible veterans will have until August 17, 2010 to submit their certification; for later dates, businesses will have 28 days from the date of hire.