New Jersey small business owners seek relief

The Star-Ledger recently shined a spotlight on small business owners, who were supposed to be helped by the Small Business Jobs bill, passed Thursday in the U.S. Senate. But Rapid Print and Copy Service owners Irv Diller and Ruly Kapoano of East Brunswick were hoping for much more.

They told the Star-Ledger that while their 35-year-old business used to have three locations, half a dozen employees and lots of business, it now consists of just the two of them.

“It’s supposed to help us little guys,” Diller, 69, told The Star-Ledger. “But what can the government give you that it has not taken from you first? Allow me to at least keep what little I make.”

What the bill was supposed to do was help create 500,000 new jobs by granting $12 billion in tax incentives for expenses like equipment and health insurance. But the provisions of the bill are lengthy, and many business owners already feel “over-legislated.”

Others counter that there is some hope for these small businesses.

John Sarno, president of the Employers Association of New Jersey, told The Star-Ledger that the bill gives small businesses greater access to capital, which they can invest in hiring and product development.

“For those people who are willing to take a risk, this will be positive,” said Sarno, whose group represents about 1,000 employers in the state. “For those people waiting for customers to come back, the government has no solution for that.”

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