Senate Democrats said they plan to introduce legislation to give additional support to veteran-owned small businesses.
They intend to introduce a bill that would give those businesses additional bidding preferences under state contracting laws and waive the first year’s business entity tax for start-up veteran-owned businesses.
Currently, according to a statement from Senate Democrats, when the state determines the lowest responsible qualified bidder for a state contract, it is allowed to give a 10 percent price preference for “micro-businesses” — which are businesses with defined gross revenues not exceeding $3 million.
The Senate Democrats’ proposal would increase the allowable preference for veteran-owned micro-businesses to 15 percent. To qualify for veteran-owned status, 51 percent of the ownership of a business must be held by an honorably discharged veteran.
The proposal would also abolish the first year’s business entity tax bill of $250 for start-up veteran-owned businesses. The proposal has the support of an organization called the Connecticut Veterans Chamber of Commerce.
There were approximately 31,000 veteran-owned businesses in Connecticut in 2007, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.
