Hochul Backs Doubling Farm Worker Tax Credit

East End farmers would see big gains in their tax credit eligibility under a New York State proposal intended to ease the economic burden of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is proposing the doubling of the Farm Workforce Retention Credit, as well as an increase in the Investment Tax Credit and supporting the agricultural industry with a tax credit for the overtime hours it is paying.

“The farmers who supply restaurant kitchens — and our own — need a lifeline as well,” Hochul said on January 5 during her first state of the state address. “I’ve visited farms from Genesee County to the North Fork of Long Island, and life is tough, even in good years. … This will also begin to address the workforce shortage so many farms struggle with.”

Last year, the state Senate passed a $200 increase per employee to the $800 per employee Farm Workforce Retention Credit and proposed the permanent extension of a $1,200 credit for tax year 2022 and beyond, but the bill did not pass the state Assembly. Doubling the credit was previously proposed in 2018.