New York SBDC Research Network

From New York State : Every employer in the New York State is required to adopt a sexual harassment prevention policy. An employer that does not adopt the model policy must ensure that the policy that they adopt meets or exceeds the following minimum standards. The policy must: *prohibit sexual harassment consistent with guidance issued by the Department of Labor in consultation with the Division of Human Rights *provide examples of prohibited conduct that would constitute unlawful sexual harassment *include information concerning the federal and state statutory provisions concerning sexual harassment, remedies available to victims of sexual harassment, and a statement that there may be applicable local laws *include a complaint form *include a procedure for the timely and confidential investigation of complaints that ensures due process for all parties *inform employees of their rights of redress and all available forums for adjudicating sexual harassment complaints adm...

From the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Whether sales of a particular good or service are taxable may depend on many factors. Sales of tangible personal property are subject to New York sales tax unless they are specifically exempt. The term tangible personal property means any kind of physical personal property that has a material existence and is perceptible to the human senses (in other words, something you can see and touch). Sales of services are generally exempt from New York sales tax unless they are specifically taxable You should not collect sales tax on exempt sales that do not require an exemption document. However, for sales that require an exemption document, you must collect sales tax unless you receive a properly completed exemption document from the purchaser.

From Open FOIL NY Open FOIL NY provides a convenient, centralized location to file a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to more than 50 New York State executive agencies and authorities. You can easily select a specific agency and submit a FOIL request. If the entity you seek is not listed, please access the New York State All Agencies website for more information. If you seek records from the following agencies, please visit their website before completing the web form, as certain records may be produced pursuant to a different statute, may require additional documentation or coordination, or have different fees: Department of Financial Services Department of Health Department of Labor Department of Motor Vehicles Department of Taxation and Finance Division of Military & Naval Affairs Higher Education Services Corporation Homes and Community Renewal New York State Insurance Fund New York State Police For more information about FOIL, please visit the follow...

The Department of Environmental Conservation recently launched the New York Green Business program and is accepting applications for it through Friday, December 15th. NYGB is a free and voluntary program that provides recognition and benefits to businesses that have a strong commitment to sustainability. Businesses that join the program receive recognition from the State, are able to use the program logo to market themselves as a sustainability leader, get priority access to technical assistance from the Pollution Prevention Institute, and access to a network of sustainability leaders. While all businesses can join the program, it does have a separate application and criteria for breweries, garment cleaners, and restaurants to address their unique environmental impacts. Applications and more information on the program can be found on its website: www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/939.html . DEC also has a fact sheet on the program here . If you have any questions about the program you can...

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Notice 17-12 The State’s new Paid Family Leave program has tax implications for New York employees, employers, and insurance carriers, including self-insured employers, employer plans, approved third-party insurers, and the State Insurance Fund. The Department of Taxation and Finance has reviewed the New York statute, implementing regulations, and applicable laws, case law and federal guidance and has consulted with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the appropriate tax treatment of family leave contributions and benefits under the New York program. Based upon this review and consultation, the following guidance: • Benefits paid to employees will be taxable non-wage income that must be included in federal gross income • Taxes will not automatically be withheld from benefits; employees can request voluntary tax withholding • Premiums will be deducted from employees’ after-tax wages • Employers should report employee con...

From Complete Payroll : New York’s Paid Family Leave program is designed to provide wage replacement to employees for a variety of family and/or medical reasons, including maternity/paternity leave, caring for a close relative with a serious health condition and relieving family pressures when someone is called to active military service. The program also guarantees that employees are able to return to their job and keep their health insurance, provided they continue to contribute their portion while on Paid Family Leave. The law was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on April 4, 2016 and will begin the first of four phases of implementation on January 1, 2018. Just like the payroll deduction is mandatory for all New York employees, it's mandatory for all New York employers to set up the payroll deduction and offer Paid Family Leave for all the employees that qualify. That means businesses must work with their payroll provider, insurance broker/carrier and HR person to create...

Recently, a client asked Judy Wolf, the NY SBDC's Government Contracting Coordinator , if there was a source the compiled information on all matchmaker events taking place in NY, CT, MA, NH, and VT.  Unfortunately, she wasn't aware of such a resource. Fortunately (for the rest of us), she pulled together some really useful information for those states. From Judy: In NYS, matchmaker events tend to be coordinated on an agency-by-agency basis. For NY, I'd recommend getting on the mailing lists for the agencies that most frequently organize them, such as the regional PTACs and the SBA. I do know of the following: •    March 28 North Country PTAC Matchmaker in Watertown: http://www.wbenc.org/calendar-all/2017/3/28/2017-north-county-ptac-matchmaker-ny •    The SBA Albany Matchmaker this year is June 20: https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/ny/syracuse/resources/albany-matchmaker-expo •    The SBA Buffalo Matchmaker looks like it's...

To streamline the process of starting a business in New York State, the state is pleased to offer citizens and businesses access to a comprehensive resource for starting, running, and growing a business in New York. Using a redesigned platform with new functions, NY Business Express helps a user to quickly learn about and access what they need in one central location. New York Business Express is open to all citizens, along with current and prospective business owners, without a login. Here are some of the key innovative features offered through this website: • To get started, visit the Business Wizard , which leads users through a series of questions to create a Custom Business Checklist that helps determine which New York State, as well as federal and local, requirements apply to their business. • New and returning users are encouraged to utilize the Incentive Guide to find out what New York State incentives and support programs they may be eligible for. • Those who know ...

From the Office of the New York State Comptroller : Among the more than 455,000 businesses in New York, over 451,000 are small businesses. In addition, there are over 1.6 million non-employer businesses in New York, which are primarily self-employed individuals. Of the small businesses with paid employees in 2013, almost two-thirds had fewer than five employees, with over 80 percent having fewer than ten employees. These 369,000 microbusinesses provided nearly 943,000 jobs with total payroll close to $40 billion. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees reported total employment of nearly 1.5 million, with total payroll of $63.2 billion. Over the most recent decade for which figures are available, New York’s small businesses fared better than the nation’s on three key metrics – number of firms, employment, and total payroll. Small business employment in the State rose by a net 1.6 percent, or 59,000 jobs, in the ten-year period through 2013, while declining nationally by 1.1 percent...

If you are a company that may qualify for a waiver of the one year in business requirement (typically licensed professionals going into business for themselves who can meet all the qualifications, are generating revenue, etc, but haven't been in business for a full year), here are updated guidelines from the ESD Certification Help Desk on how to make that request and what's required as support documentation: A one year waiver for a business entity requires the following documentation before it can be forwarded to the Executive Director for final approval: 1. A letter requesting the one year waiver for the business entity in question to the NYS ESD Division of Minority and Woman Business Development explaining the services or products you provided leading up to the start of your new company; 2. The majority owner(s) current resume(s) typically listing training, and dates of employment history with brief explanation of role and responsibilities; 3. If applicable, any re...

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics : In July 2016, 15 states had statistically significant over-the-month increases in nonfarm payroll employment in July 2016. The largest job gains occurred in New York (+37,500), California (+36,400), and Florida (+28,100). In percentage terms, the largest increases occurred in North Dakota and Vermont (+1.0 percent each), followed by Maine (+0.7 percent). The only significant decrease in employment over the month occurred in Kansas (-5,600, or -0.4 percent). In July, 36 states had statistically significant over-the-year changes in nonfarm payroll employment, 34 of which were increases. The largest job gains occurred in California (+374,600), Florida (+250,200), and Texas (+173,000). The largest percentage gain occurred in Idaho (+3.4 percent), followed by Oregon (+3.3 percent) and Florida and Utah (+3.1 percent each). Two states had significant over-the-year declines in employment: North Dakota (-9,900, or -2.2 percent) and Wyoming (-9,800, or -...

The use of the following words and phrases are restricted or prohibited by statute* in the name of a Business Corporation (“BC”), Not-for Profit Corporation (“N-PC”), Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) and/or Limited Partnership (“LP”): academy cooperative institute preschool acceptance cooperation insurance redevelopment "America Espirito Sport Fraternite" council investment savings annuity doctor kindergarten school arboretum education labor secondary assurance elementary lawyer state police attorney endowment library state trooper bank exchange loan surety benefit fidelity mortgage tenant relocation blind finance museum title board of trade guaranty nursery school trust casualty handicapped Olympiad underwriter chamber of commerce historical Olympic union "Citius Altius Fortius" historical society Pan-American United Nations college history Paralympiad university community renewal incorporated Paralympic urban development conservatory indemnity ...

SBA is acknowledging the outstanding work of Empire State Certified Development Corp. (Empire State CDC), a New-York-based CDC, as the winner of the first-ever National Small Business Week Community Advantage Lender of the Year Award. A subsidiary of the New York Business Development Corporation, Empire State CDC is New York’s largest SBA 504 lender and consistently ranks in the top five among the 242 certified development companies nationwide. In FY 2014, Empire State CDC led the nation in approving $8.6 million of Community Advantage (CA) Loans to 66 different small businesses. Empire State CDC President and CEO Patrick J. MacKrell will accept the award. The award will be presented as part of the National Small Business Week 2015 Celebrations in May. A table showing both the top 10 Microlenders and top 10 Community Advantage lenders with their respective rankings and loan production may be accessed at https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Top10-microloan-ca-lenders-fy14.pdf ...

From HERE: These FAQs are meant to provide general guidance on topics of interest to taxpayers. However, taxpayers should be aware that subsequent changes in the Tax Law or its interpretation may affect the accuracy of an FAQ. The information provided in these FAQs does not cover every situation and is not intended to replace the law or change its meaning. Business Capital Q. Does business capital include the capital that generates other exempt income? A. Yes, because this capital may also generate taxable business income, such as capital gains from the sale of stock in a unitary corporation that is not included in a combined report with the taxpayer. Q. Are Internal Revenue Code Section 78 gross-up dividends included in the business income base? A. Our current policy of excluding these dividends is being continued. See NYS Tax Law section 208.9(a)(6). Q. Will New York State consider a corporation instantly unitary with a taxpayer when acquired? A. It is a facts and circu...

Chart 1. Private sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted Chart 2. Components of private sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted Chart 3. Private sector gross job gains and gross job losses as a percent of total employment, seasonally adjusted Chart 4. Employment from private sector births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Chart 5. Percent of employment from private sector births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Chart 6. Employment from private sector openings, closings, births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, not seasonally adjusted Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment, seasonally adjusted Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment, not seasonally adjusted Table 5. Number of private sector establishments by direct...

In certain instances, section 5-a of the Tax Law requires businesses that are awarded contracts with New York State to certify that they are registered to collect New York State and local sales and use taxes (sales tax) on sales delivered to locations within New York. The purpose of section 5-a is to ensure that contractors do not get state work unless they, their affiliates, and their subcontractors making sales of tangible personal property or taxable services are registered to collect New York State’s sales tax. This means that certain businesses, including in some cases out-of-state businesses not currently registered to collect New York State sales taxes, will need to register for New York State sales tax purposes. This bulletin explains the general rules related to the certification requirements for contractors and their affiliates and subcontractors. For more detailed information on the contractor certification requirements imposed under section 5-a of the Tax Law, see Publ...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has unveiled a new program to eliminate some of the challenges minority and women-owned businesses face when bidding for state contracts. Cuomo's program, launched Feb. 21, provides MWBEs and small businesses with surety bond assistance. Surety bonds, or letters of credit from insurance companies, act as promises the insurance companies will cover a specific amount of a contract cost, should contractual obligations go unmet. Two A-plus rated surety bond companies, Travelers and ACE, are taking part in Cuomo's program, ensuring companies contracting to MWBEs up to 30 percent of the principle contract cost. In addition to surety bonds, New York state is collaborating with intermediary lenders to create more working capital loans for contractors. Cuomo says entrepreneurship, innovation and diversity are New York's strength. More HERE .

The New York State Statistical Yearbook provides more than 700 pages of data, tables, graphs and maps on the state's people, economy and government, as well as selected comparisons with other states. Who needs this information? Members of the news media, government officials, citizens and others. The data enhance understanding of the economic and social environment in which state government operates. Such improved understanding is increasingly important as tough decisions must be made in a challenging fiscal climate. Originated 35 years ago as a joint project of the Rockefeller Institute and the state Division of the Budget, the Statistical Yearbook is now available both in print and online, where data appear in both Excel spreadsheet and PDF format. The Institute is exploring options for placing additional relevant data about New York State government online.

The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance announced that a record number of businesses have moved to the Web for all aspects of filing state taxes .

This may be a directory to help small business access valuable resources , but it's also a useful tool for those advising small businesses. It includes: *information resources (OPAL, Healthy NY, Guide to Sales Tax in New York, etc.) *technical assistance (environmental ombudperson, Workers' Comp, etc.) *funding incentives (general, environmental, minority/women/disadvantaged, tax incentives) *industry-specific programs *workforce recruitment, development, and benefits *government contracts/market expansion *mandated state filings