The New York State Senate introduced a job creation bill in the vein of last week’s federal initiative.

Like the one passed by the U.S. Senate, it will give tax credits to businesses that create jobs. Members of the Senate Republican Conference announced the bill yesterday.

While State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City) expressed hopes that it will boost the state economy, State Sen. John DeFrancisco expressed concerns about businesses leaving the state, and feels tax reductions will make New York more desirable. Last year, the state lost 269,000 jobs, and an additional 40,000 are projected for this year.

Though State Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) criticized the Democrats' business tax hikes and lack of action in the area of job creation, he wishes that the bill’s passage would be a bipartisan effort, similar to bipartisan passage of the $15 billion federal bill.

In addition to the tax credits, the bill would reduce the personal income tax surcharge that started last year, eliminate the state corporate franchise tax on small businesses, and put a moratorium on new taxes, fees and regulations for businesses.

The tax credits for hiring will be allotted in proportion to the new employees' wages.

Supporters of the bill say the revenue created by the new jobs will largely offset the costs of such a measure. Furthermore, the budget would be unaffected when hires are coming off of unemployment, since those credits would come from federal stimulus money allotted for the unemployment fund. 

The bill will give credits for all new jobs, but will give more credits when the unemployed are hired, unlike its federal counterpart, which only gives credits to businesses that hire those currently unemployed. The two plans will work together, so businesses will get aid from both the state and the federal credits, meaning participating businesses have the potential to save thousands of dollars.