Some concrete ways to help small RI businesses recover
The Treasurer outlined his set of recommendations while testifying in front of the House Committee on Small Business.
“Small businesses are the heart of Rhode Island's economy and our quality of life. Today, at the House Committee on Small Business, I shared the work that our office is doing to help small businesses in this challenging time, and presented recommendations for how our state government can take bold action to help small businesses recover and thrive,” said Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner.
“By using stimulus funds to launch a new grant program for existing small businesses, expanding unemployment insurance to cover Rhode Islanders launching new businesses, better supporting women and entrepreneurs of color, and providing budget-friendly tax relief, we can help small businesses start and restart, and we can put thousands of Rhode Islanders back to work.”
During the Committee hearing, Treasurer Magaziner outlined
the following recommendations to help small businesses recover and thrive:
1. Provide recovery
grants to Rhode Island small businesses in hardest-hit industries.
2. Establish a state PPP
for new businesses and businesses that had to close down due to COVID-19. Loans
through this PPP would be forgiven if used for eligible expenses related to the
starting or restarting of a business.
3. Enact a
Self-Employment Assistance Program to allow individuals to earn unemployment
benefits while starting a new business.
4. Allow penalty-free
extensions on certain tax payments until social distancing guidelines are
relieved.
5. Establish free tax
consultations for new businesses.
6. Increase awarding of
State contracts of Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women Business
Enterprises (WBEs) by establishing separate, more ambitious targets for MBEs
and WBEs.
7. Create a centralized Rhode Island Small Business Resource Center to provide comprehensive information and counseling on all aspects of how to start and grow a small business in Rhode Island.
Treasurer Magaziner’s highest priority as General Treasurer is to support job creation and economic opportunity for all Rhode Islanders.
During the pandemic, Treasurer Magaziner worked with local banks and credit
unions to encourage them to provide federal forgivable PPP loans to any
eligible Rhode Island small business, his BankLOCAL program provided access to
capital for Rhode Island small businesses in need of additional support, and he
launched a program to return missing money (unclaimed property) to small businesses
for an extra boost during this difficult financial time.