Lisa Chow
Lisa Chow is the economics reporter at WNYC. She tries to explore in her stories surprising aspects of New York’s many economies—in plain view or hidden, in neighborhoods or sectors.
Bloomberg: Unemployed Freelancers Should Receive Benefits
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
New York, NY –
Mayor Bloomberg says government needs to do a better job looking after freelancers who are out of work.
He said unemployment benefits should be created for independent workers and he criticized the Unincorporated Business Tax, which he says double-taxes contractors and sole proprietors and discourages businesses from setting up shop in New York.
BLOOMBERG: The amount of money that we raise from the UBT is trivial but the damage that we may be doing we can never measure. Someday somebody will leave here, go some place else and start the next microsoft.
REPORTER: The tax takes up to four percent of an independent contractor's gross revenues and people subject to the tax also have to pay personal taxes. The mayor wants to reduce or eliminate the tax for some 17,000 businesses in New York City. Such a change must be approved by legislators in Albany.
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