No matter where you live, small businesses and local news outlets are the lifeblood of our communities. But both in our state and throughout our nation, we’re watching newspapers and small businesses shutter at alarming rates.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. has lost more than one-third of its newspapers and 60% of its journalists. Newspapers across the country continue to disappear at a rate of more than two per week, and in New York, several of our counties have only one local news source.
Small businesses — the cornerstones of our communities and the backbone of our economy — help drive job creation and local growth. In Greater Rochester, our small businesses employ over 110,000 individuals. It’s no wonder that Americans have more confidence in them than any other U.S. institution.
But as New Yorkers can attest, owning and operating a successful small business today is no easy feat. The increase in e-commerce options vying for customers' attention makes it increasingly difficult for small businesses to break through the crowded landscape, often on shoe-string marketing budgets — the first to be cut in an effort to gain any marginal revenue.
A new bill in the State Legislature would help change that. The Lift Our Communities, Advertise Locally (LOCAL) Act would give New York’s small businesses the financial support they need by establishing a first-of-its-kind $10 million tax credit for marketing in local media outlets.
