A number of new state laws take effect in New York Jan. 1. They include a few tax cuts and tax breaks, and even a new regulation that could impact the health of baby boomers.
Hitting the books in the new year are the first of three new tax cuts for small businesses and an additional nearly 10 percent tax cut for manufacturers. Middle-income families are also getting tax relief in 2014. That affects people who make between $40,000 and $300,000 a year and who have at least one dependent child.
The first of three minimum wage increases also start in January, going up to $8 an hour from $7.25 an hour. By 2016, it is scheduled to reach $9 an hour. Taxpayers will be paying for most of that because the state will be reimbursing employers two-thirds of the cost increase.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to spur development in and around universities will also begin. START-UP NY exempts nearly all taxes for new businesses around universities if they meet certain conditions to create jobs and not hurt existing local companies.
Another new law requires hospitals to provide free hepatitis C screenings for baby boomers, a group the Centers for Disease Control says will rapidly start developing health problems from the disease.
And of course, Las Vegas-style gambling becomes legal this year. In November, voters approved a referendum allowing four gaming resort destinations for upstate counties. The sites of those casinos have not yet been determined.
