Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, has introduced a bill that would offer small businesses a tax break that corresponds to increases in wages paid to certain employees in a given year.

The legislation would enable small businesses to provide tax-free dividends to their owners up to the amount that gross wages increased during the taxable year. It would apply strictly to wages for employees who make up to $50,000 per year, ensuring that credit is linked to wage increases for middle-income workers. If a small business paid $10,000 more to its staff than the previous year, for example, it would then be eligible to distribute $10,000 in tax-free dividends to its owners.

Mr. Owens said in a statement the legislation would “put money in the pockets of workers as well as job creators.”

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer