CONTACT:
Vanessa
Lockel
(212) 681-4840

FOR RELEASE:
Immediately
March 8, 2010

DiNAPOLI:  NEW PAGE ON YOUR MONEY
NEW YORK WEB SITE
PROVIDES RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
OWNERS

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
today announced a new section of his Your
Money New York Web site  that
provides small business owners and New Yorkers interested in starting a
business with the essential resources needed to create and grow their business.
The new section offers access to reliable information on how to start a
business, get the appropriate permits and understand small business tax
implications, as well as survive tough economic times.

DiNapoli launched the site at the Small Business
Day 2010 in Albany, where he also released a snapshot on The
Role of Small Business in New York State’s Economy.  The
New York Main Street Small Business Coalition, the National Federation
of Independent Business, and the Chamber Alliance of New York State partnered
together to host the event.

“The importance of small businesses to our
state’s economy cannot be overstated,” DiNapoli said. “Small businesses
provide half of all private sector jobs.  They’ve created nearly
70 percent of all new jobs over the past ten years. New York needs small
businesses, and we need to do a better job to help small businesses thrive.
This new small business section of Your Money New York is a good
start. It provides a lot of useful tools for New Yorkers who already own
small businesses and for those looking to start one.”  

Your Money New York (www.yourmoneynewyork.com)
is a Web site introduced by DiNapoli last year to give New Yorkers easy
access to information and useful resources on money-related matters.  

The new
small business page at Your
Money New York has a wide range of information suitable for small business
owners in all stages of business development. Entrepreneurs interested
in starting a business can find information on writing a business plan,
understanding legal ramifications, getting their taxes in order, receiving
technical assistance, and marketing.  Established business owners
can find information on employment, environmental issues, financing and
refinancing, venture capitals and much more.

 “Running a successful business or
getting a new small business venture off the ground in New York is an enormous
challenge under stable economic conditions,” said James Sherin, President
and CEO of the Retail Council of New York State.  “Doing so in today's
difficult economic climate is even more daunting and we applaud State Comptroller
DiNapoli for providing this roadmap to so much practical and reliable data
and information.”
 
“I applaud State Comptroller DiNapoli for
recognizing the importance of small businesses to our economy by creating
a small business page on his Your Money New York website,” said
Diana A. Ehrlich, Assistant State Director of the National Federation of
Independent Business. “The site improves access and awareness of available
State and Federal resources, which will alleviate some of the challenges
faced by small businesses by helping them navigate through our complex
government bureaucracy and provide them with the information they need
to make informed decisions.  In these hard economic times, we must
do everything we can to help support small businesses so that they can
stay viable and grow.”

The small
business section of Your Money
New York also includes access to information from federal, State and
local government resources, including:
-Growing your business in New York City and
in New York State
-Small business tax and permit help
-Minority- and women- owned businesses
-Business survival in a rough economy
-Federal stimulus help for small businesses

Your Money New York Web Site
The easy-to-use, multilingual site covers
credit cards and consumer debt, home mortgages, savings and investments,
insurance, and protection against identity theft and financial scams. It
also provides access to interactive calculators and DiNapoli’s Open
Book New York Web site, which brings detailed information on State
and local government finances to taxpayers through a centralized, user-friendly
platform.

Visit the Comptroller’s Web site at http://www.osc.state.ny.us
for more information on Your Money New York.

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