Assemblyman Ed Ra, R-Garden City, is pictured speaking during a news conference in Albany in April.

This year’s state budget included several new programs aimed at helping small businesses.

Assemblyman Ed Ra, R-Garden City, doesn’t think reducing the Payroll Mobility Tax for small businesses, more access to low interest capital, increasing opportunities for Minority and Woman Owned Enterprises or helping small businesses after natural disasters goes far enough. Instead, he’s proposing a 50% tax cut for businesses with fewer than 20 employees.

Ra recently introduced A.8752 in the state Assembly. The legislation faces an uphill battle to make it to the Assembly floor before the end of the state legislative session, but could be part of legislative efforts when the state Legislature reconvenes in 2026.

Ra would make the first $50,000 earned by small businesses tax exempt, a proposal he said would affect about 1.5 million workers, or 18.6%, of the workforce in the state. Ra would like to see the tax break take effect for the 2027 tax year.

“These small businesses are crucial to New York state and create a healthy economy,” Ra wrote in his legislative justification. “They contribute to local economic growth, provide local employment opportunities, and are the backbone of local communities. With rising costs burdening businesses across New York, it is growing increasingly difficult for small businesses to compete in the global marketplace. This legislation offers much needed financial relief by introducing a tax exemption for the first fifty thousand dollars earned by businesses who employ twenty or fewer people. This exemption provides a valuable lifeline to allow them to continue to operate as integral parts of communities.”

Earlier this year, state Senate Republicans introduced several bills as part of their “Liberate NY” agenda. Among those bills was S.1487, which would lower tax rates for businesses with a base income up to $500,000 starting in 2027, with more cuts in 2028 for those earning $400,000 or less. The bill also expands eligibility for small business deductions. That bill, introduced by Sen. Tom O’Mara and co-sponsored by state Sen. George Borrello, has been introduced several times over five legislative sessions starting in 2015-16.