0 Comments Well thanks for asking! I’ve been working. Can’t be fighting the MTA every day! Quick recap: Small Business Day went very well. Good sized crowd, excellent questions and comments for the panel. Visiting our elected officials was the usual – thanks for your help, we need more help, see you soon.
Next up: trade shows, Small Business Council Meeting, and other good stuff!
Rich
Small Business Day in Albany has been critical to business’ efforts to convince lawmakers to make more affordable health insurance available to sole proprietors, reduce taxes and make other critical improvements for New York State. We need you to come to Albany to ensure that the voice of small business is heard! This year, Small Business Day will focus exclusively on reducing the $4.1 Billion in new taxes in the Governor’s 2009 Budget.
This year’s event is more important than ever! We need our elected officials to hear the message that any additional taxes will send many businesses over the edge. Make your voice count! Click on the link to get details:
SMALL BUSINESS DAY, MARCH 10, 2009 – ALBANY
The Orange County Chamber of Commerce will be sending a contingent of (hopefully) hundreds of small business owners to show our unity against tax increases. After a morning program of speakers and panel discussion, we will meet with our area elected officials (Larkin, Gunther, Calhoun, etc) to discuss the issues with them face-to-face. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ORANGE COUNTY CHAMBER TO ATTEND SMALL BUSINESS DAY! Please feel free to contact me if you like more information. As a small business owner, I thank you for your support.
Rich
March 2nd, 2009, at the Hilton Gardens, Newburgh NY (next to OC Choppers). It’s the MTA “Payroll Tax” hearing. This is our chance to tell the MTA that this proposed tax is wrong for so many reasons. To help boost your spirits and get you fiesty, I put together a little ditty for you to tap or hum along with. The words are listed below, in case you want to rap along!
NO WAY, MTA!
Words, music, performed, produced by Rich Rossi
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
The MTA wants to make a tax
they think will fix their budget gaps
but why should we have to pay their bounty
when we live and work HERE in Orange County?
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
33 cents on every hundred dollars
We need to scream and yell and holler
How can we keep our businesses going
They can’t even keep their trains and buses rolling!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
So let’s stand up and fight the good fight
And show the MTA that this isn’t right
We are the proud, we are the mighty
WE ARE THE UNITED ORANGE COUNTY!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
What do we say to the MTA?
We say, NO WAY!
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the leading small business association representing small and independent businesses. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of members to own, operate and grow their businesses. They have a great service where you can email a letter to your elected officials on any upcoming legislation; a letter is pre-scripted and all you have to do is fill in the blanks with your information, and the email is sent to the politicians in your area.
We need to let our NYS legislators know that the proposed MTA payroll tax is going to do a lot of damage to businesses in the Hudson Valley areas under the MTA, specifically Dutchess, Putnam, Orange, Rockland and Westchester.
MAKE YOUR VOICE BE HEARD! Click on this link: TAKE ACTION NOW and follow the steps. It’s pretty quick and easy. If you need help with it give me a call. We have to let the MTA know that we will not stand for this!
New York State is in serious economic trouble (who isn’t these days?), and it is looking to impose crazy new taxes and cut back on services that will deal a serious blow to every business owner and resident. One of the most outrageous taxes being proposed is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) mobility tax , also known as the “PAYROLL TAX”. The reason for the tax is to help bail out the MTA, which is facing a $1.2 BILLION shortfall in it’s 2009 operating budget. The problem with the payroll tax is that it will place a 0.33 percent — 33 cents on every $100 — tax on payrolls in the MTA’s 12-county service area: Orange, Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk and the five counties that comprise New York City.
The payroll tax will affect ALL BUSINESSES – from major corporations all the way down to sole-proproprietors. It would apply to every payroll — villages, towns, counties, school districts, nonprofits and self-employeds, as well as conventional businesses.
The biggest issue is that businesses which are owned and operated in the Mid-Hudson Valley, especially Orange County, DON’T USE THE SERVICES THAT THE MTA PROVIDES!!!! The MTA provides train and bus service to metropolitian areas like NYC; if you have a business in Orange County you don’t take the train or bus to work. Why should we be taxed for services we don’t use, can’t use, and will never use?
The Orange County Chamber of Commerce has created a letter to send to our state representatives to show our opposition to the payroll tax. The letter appears below; if you have the opportunity to do so, please send copies to your local elected officials. If you have questions or need to know who your representatives are, contact me and I’ll get you the proper info.
We have to show Albany that we’re mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore!
*****************************************
<to NYS elected officials>
As a business operating in the Mid-Hudson Valley, I am adding my voice to those who strongly oppose the Ravitch Commission’s recent recommendation to impose a payroll tax (one-third of one percent on total payroll) on businesses and organizations within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s service territory.
I thoroughly understand the importance of having a safe and efficient transportation system. However, the billion dollar deficit being faced by the MTA should not be the responsibility of our region’s businesses, particularly when individuals, businesses, not-for-profits and governments within the MTA district already contribute significantly to the MTA through several other taxes and assessments. The addition of a payroll tax to this list of mandates is unacceptable, especially in counties like Orange and Rockland where there is limited access to train stations and where many of the businesses that would be required to pay the tax would receive little or no benefit in return.
It is no secret that we all are facing unprecedented challenges in today’s roller coaster business world. Compromises must be made on all sides when it comes to solving the complex problems that face our businesses, our communities and our government. However, the imposition of a tax on selected businesses and organizations to solve one organization’s financial woes is not the way to go.
Please join me in standing against this proposed new tax on New York’s businesses. Thank you.
February is the LOVE month and
MultiMedia Service Center
loves all of our customers, old and new.
To show you just how much, we’ll give
you a 14% discount off your total
invoice* throughout the entire month!
*Minimum order: $25 (before NYS sales tax, if applicable).
A 50% deposit is required at time order is placed.
All orders must be placed between February 1, 2009 and February 28, 2009.
If you’ve visited here before, (hopefully) you’ll see the new look to the MMSC Blog. WordPress has some great templates, and I’ve been experimenting with tools (like the audio buttons), blog design and even widgets! WordPress is a tricky beast, but I’m getting used to it the more I use it.
Please feel free to comment on things; just be fair in your comments, and NO BAD WORDS! I also look forward to your questions on any topics listed here.
Thanks for visiting, and I hope you become a regular visitor!
Rich
As mentioned in the previous post ”MMSC ON THE RADIO“, I was interviewed by Michael Mazzariello on his weekly radio show “Closing Arguments” on 1-17-09. Besides talking about the business, I was asked to elaborate on my quote in the paper about healthcare coverage for small businesses. Here is the clip of that interview:
After my interview, NY Congressman John Hall was on the show. Michael asked him to comment on my remarks. Here is that clip:
Keep it tuned right here for more details on this imortant topic!
Rich
I was interviewed on 1-17-09 by Michael Mazzariello, host of “CLOSING ARGUMENTS”, a weekly radio show heard locally in the Hudson Valley on WGNY 1220-AM, and also streaming on the web: http://www.wgny.net/pages/1267077.php.
The interview is broken up into 2 parts, along with a special feature. In Part 1, Michael interviews me about the business. You can listen to that clip at the end of this post. In Part 2, he asks me about the Orange County Chamber’s Elected Officials breakfast. And then, in the Special Feature, he speaks with NY Congressman John Hall about the small business healthcare issues I talked about. Those two parts are in the next posting.
Click here to listen to Part 1:
Rich
As a small business owner, I have struggled for almost 10 years trying to obtain and keep health care coverage. Premiums are outrageous, renewals are ridiculous, and it seems that no one on the Federal or State level can do anything about it! But I have chosen to carry the torch and make people aware of the issue. Here is a link to some comments I made recently at the “Elected Officials Breakfast” held annually by the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.
http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090116/BIZ/901160355
Rich
