The Small and Independent Business Council has asked OTPA to prepare a follow-up study. This report updates the earlier study using the most recent completed year available, 1995. The methodology used in this study contains significant improvements over the process used in the prior report. The section on methodology describes these changes. A business is considered small if it has fewer than 100 employees in New York State.
Small businesses organize themselves in many different forms.
The most prevalent organizational form for small business is the sole proprietorship. Sole proprietors may or may not employ additional workers. They file tax returns under the personal income tax for both federal and New York State purposes using federal Schedule C to compute their business profit or loss. Many farms are also organized as a type of sole proprietorship. The farm owner may hire workers and pay them wages subject to withholding tax.