America’s jobs growth engine is being choked to death.

By JOHN AIDAN BYRNE and RICHARD WILNER at The New York times

A record 25 percent increase in the taxes against US small businesses — from costs associated with new health care law, to an increased Medicare tax, increased capital gains taxes and higher state and city taxes — is repealing any ability of these entrepreneurs to add jobs to their payroll.

And the numbers for New York’s small- to medium-sized business are just as harrowing.

By one estimate, the effective tax rate on the 26 million small businesses across the country — which in the past have accounted for more than half of the job growth in the US — has jumped to 50 percent from 40 percent, sucking valuable cash from the businesses.

These dollars could have been used to add to payrolls or make capital improvements — but instead will be siphoned off by Uncle Sam, state and municipal governments.

“The impact of these higher taxes and reduced hiring will be a recovery cycle that will be much longer, be slower to take hold and be without much job growth,” said Al Angrisani, founder and CEO of Angrisani Turnarounds and former US Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Reagan.

A survey of 200 small businesses across the US by the economist found 51.5 percent of business owners in March were concerned about the viability of their businesses — up from 49.5 percent in February. More than eight million jobs have been lost during the current 28-month recession.While a healthy 162,000 jobs were added in March, it was accomplished with the help of heavy government stimulus. Meanwhile, the average length of joblessness rose to 31 weeks and hourly earnings were down, albeit slightly.

In New York, interviews with more than a dozen small business owners by The Post found a group of owners hurting under the weight of the new taxes.

FULL STORY

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