NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is pushing for the city to help out struggling small businesses through the holiday season by temporarily suspending its 4.5% sales tax.
Adams announced his plan ahead of Small Business Saturday on Friday. It would remove the sales tax until the beginning of January.
After thousands of small businesses closed their doors in recent months, this holiday season could prove crucial for stores whose doors remain open.
Adams said the city can afford a moratorium on its sales tax after reportedly making $840 million more in revenue than expected in the first quarter.
“We will have an opportunity to revitalize our economy, but we must incentivize face-to-face shoppers, not face-to-computer interactions,” Adams said.
He said the city still needs to deal with its two-year $9 billion deficit but that investing in local businesses is worth it.
“We're still calling on the city, that they must deal with the deficit and have a 5% to 10% cut in our agencies, but we can use a portion of this money to stabilize many of our small businesses,” Adams said.
Brooklyn clothing shop Moshood Creations has been in business for 26 years but moved to a new location about a year ago. It has spent most of its months on Fulton Street operating during the pandemic.
“Our longtime customers have just been so supportive, but of course there’s only so much you can do when there’s all these other expenses that people are thinking of,” said Harmony Hemmings-Pallay, an employee at the store.
Hemmings-Pallay said that by shopping locally people are helping their neighbors.
“You are funding children’s education, you know, their ability to buy their notebooks, their backpacks,” Hemmings-Pallay said. “Putting food on small families’ tables, as opposed to shopping with bigger corporations, where that money is going to people who don’t necessarily need it.”