November 29, 2012
NJBIA Pushes
Federal Tax Incentives to Help Businesses Recover from Sandy
Several federal tax incentives that have
helped businesses in other states rebuild following major
natural disasters could help New Jersey businesses as they
recover from Superstorm Sandy, NJBIA President Philip
Kirschner recently said.
After researching
business assistance legislation
enacted after Katrina, NJBIA shared
those tax incentive ideas with the
members of New Jersey’s
congressional delegation.
“Many businesses
are facing a long, expensive
recovery from the damage that Sandy
brought,” Kirschner said.
“Getting businesses back on their
feet is essential for protecting the
state’s economy and creating jobs.”
“NJBIA looked at
how other states approached their
rebuilding efforts and found several
ideas that would work well in New
Jersey,” Kirschner said.
“Following Katrina, for instance,
many businesses in the hard-hit Gulf
states received expensing and tax
incentives that allowed them to
deduct more of the rebuilding cost
from federal taxes.”
“We believe New
Jersey businesses need and deserve
the same kind of recovery
assistance,” Kirschner said.
Kirschner noted
that at present, businesses did not
have access to direct disaster aid
like the disaster funds provided to
homeowners through the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
Government programs for businesses
are in the form of disaster loans
from the US Small Business
Administration (SBA) and the NJ
Economic Development Authority
(EDA).
Furthermore, the
Jersey Shore was hit the hardest,
threatening parts of the state’s
$16.5 billion tourism industry.
“The sooner we
can get businesses back on their
feet, the sooner we can put the
economic impact of Sandy behind us
and move forward,” Kirschner said.
Among the ideas
that NJBIA shared:
·
Increased expensing for
small businesses allowing them to
deduct more for qualifying property
expenditures;
·
Special bonus depreciation
deduction for qualified property
placed in service during rebuilding;
·
Tax deduction for
demolition and clean-up costs;
·
Extended net operating
loss carry-back; and
Tax credits for
employers for hiring certain workers
impacted by the storm.
|
