Area-Wide Payroll Administrator for Small Business

Small business creates most of the new jobs being created in the United States, but it could create even more, if small business owners could legally get around the requirement of having (i) a workmen's compensation insurance policy; (ii) a disability insurance policy; (iii) an audit by the insurance carriers and NYS Department of Insurance when the small business runs short of money and has to suspend payroll (even as to the owner of the business); (iv) the additional costs of starting up payroll again, with new fees to the payroll service and a higher assumed risk with the insurance carriers. All of this has caused millions of small businesses in the U.S. to not hire any employees, which of course prevents competition, growth and new jobs.

The obvious way to get around this requirement is to set up an area-wide payroll administrator for the area's small businesses to use as an "office temp service" to make payroll payments to the small business employees, without the payroll administrator having anything to do with the hiring, training or firing of employees. All that a small business employer (or a family member in the case of the hiring of domestic help) would do is call up the area-wide payroll administrator each week and say something like: "Hi, I'm Joe from Joe's Garage. We have 3 for checks this week: Me, Joe Pepitone, 40 hours; Sally Smith, 40 hours, and George Jones, 12 hours.

The payroll administrator will never have the two policies terminated, and will probably never have an audit. Each business and family using the service would pay its, his or her own costs, so that there would not be any unfair imposition of costs on any participants. The owners of businesses (and families hiring domestic help) would be able to hire part-timers, seasonal employees, no employees or whatever combination is needed without any penalties now imposed on a small business (or a family) that has a payroll account. Small businesses would not be able to get behind in payroll taxes because the payroll administrator would not write any payroll checks unless the taxes were also being paid by the business or family.

With this simple reform, we can create millions of new jobs (with payroll deductions and benefits) in a very short period of time. Small business wants to expand but the problems associated with payroll is an insurmountable obstacle for many small businesses, prohibiting them from getting to a size where payroll problems are handled by someone other than the owner.

If elected, I will assist towns and villages in setting up an area-wide payroll administrator through a website page which explains what a town or administrator needs to know to set up such a program. There is no reason to wait for the elections, this can be done right away. See my website at http://election-issues-us.com/localbusiness.php

Carl E. Person
Candidate for NYS Attorney General