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President to meet Wednesday with small business owners from Edison, Wayne, Rochelle Park and Sicklerville

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

UPDATED

Four New Jersey small business owners will meet President Obama at the Tastee Sub Shop in Edison Wednesday afternoon as part of his administration's nationwide push for public support for his proposal to provide financial support and tax incentives for small businesses to expand and hire.

Sitting down with the president will be Dave Thornton, co-owner of the sub shop on Plainfield Avenue; Theo Mastorakos, owner Mama Roxy's Italian Restaurant in Rochelle Park; Tom and Catherine Horsburgh, the owners of Ridgid Paper Tube Corp. in Wayne, and Brian Bovia, manager of his family-owned business, Bovio Advanced Comfort & Energy Solutions in Sicklerville.

Obama will use the meeting to urge Congress to pass support for small businesses, which he sees as the engines of private sector job growth.

The legislation would provide small so-called Main Street banks with capital and incentives to lend to small businesses, so they could renew a credit line, purchase new equipment or open a new location.

It would also support state initiatives like loan guarantee programs that make it easier for creditworthy small businesses to borrow from private sector lenders. It would creating tax incentives for new investments made by small businesses seeking to expand and grow — allowing, for example, a small business to more quickly receive a deduction on their taxes after purchasing new machinery or equipment.

The legislation would eliminate capital gains taxes on key investments in small businesses, encouraging and rewarding those who invest their capital in smaller firms. It would also continue provisions from the federal Recovery Act that the administration maintains have helped increase the availability of U.S. Small Business Administration loans and reduce the fees small businesses pay, while doubling the size of the loans small businesses can receive in an effort to enable them to expand and create new jobs.

After a meeting with Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders on Tuesday, Obama said support for small businesses was a prime topic.

"Our conversation today focused on an issue that's being discussed every day at kitchen tables across this country — and that's how do we create jobs that people need to support their families,'' the president said. "I believe that starts with doing everything we can to support small businesses. These are the stores, the restaurants, the start-ups and other companies that create two out of every three new jobs in this country — and that grow into the big businesses that transform industries, here in America and around the world.

"But we know that many of these businesses still can't get the loans and the capital they need to keep their doors open and hire new workers,'' Obama said. "That's why we've proposed steps to get them that help — eliminating capital gains taxes on investments, making it easier for small lenders to support small businesses, expanding successful SBA programs to help these businesses access the capital that they need.

This is how we create jobs — by investing in the innovators and entrepreneurs that have always driven our prosperity.

"These are the kind of common-sense steps that folks from both parties have supported in the past — steps to cut taxes and spur private sector growth and investment,'' the president said. "And I hope that in the coming days, we'll once again find common ground and get this legislation passed. We shouldn't let America's small businesses be held hostage to partisan politics — and certainly not at this critical time.

As part of the Obama administration's national push for public support for his small business aid program, SBA Administrator met in Jacksonville Tuesday with small business operators and bankers.

Thornton, the co-owner of the Tastee Sub Shop and his business partner, Carl Padavano, met in school and have worked at the Edison shop since they were teenagers. Based on the success of the Edison store, they opened a second Tastee Sub Shop together in South Brunswick, and three years ago Thornton opened a third shop in Lawrenceville with his two sons. He said business has remained steady at all three locations despite the economic downturn and is optimistic that business will continue to improve.

Mastorakos, the owner Mama Roxy's, which opened in Rochelle Park last month. Mama Roxy's received a 504 SBA loan to purchase the land and construct the restaurant. Under the Recovery Act the 1.5 percent fee of the loan was waived, saving Mastorakos and his family over $20,000 in fees. The loan enabled the family to open their third restaurant and create 60 new jobs.

The Horsburghs have owned Ridgid Paper Tube, a manufacturer of paper tubes and custom packaging, for almost 30 years. Ridgid Paper Tube has received a total of four SBA 7(a) loans, two of which were received this year with provisions utilized under the Recovery Act that amounted to fee elimination savings of over $5,000.

The loans allowed the Horsburghs to purchase the new equipment and materials necessary to expand the sale of their product. They said business has grown as a result and they are currently looking to move to a larger facility and plan to hire approximately ten additional employees by the end of the year, almost doubling the size of their current workforce of over 25 employees. They also plan to keep the business in the family and are currently in the process of transitioning management to their son.

As a result of the downturn in the economy, Bovio's company began to look for new ways to grow and became involved in the New Jersey Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program which allowed Bovio to add an insulation division and transform the company from a traditional heating and air conditioning company to a business focused on providing services to maximize homeowner energy savings.

Since making the transformation, business has been steadily growing and last year Bovio hired eight workers and has added an additional four more this year, bringing the company to 18 employees currently.

Obama will arrive aboard Air Force 1 at Newark Liberty International Airport at 12:50 p.m and travel to Edison. He'll be greeted on his arrival at the airport by Gov. Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Corey Booker. His next stop will be Manhattan to tape an appearance on ABC‘s "The View'' and and he plans to attend two Democratic National Committee events before returning to Washington at 7 p.m.

Last year, Obama appeared at a rally at for then-Gov. Jon Corzine at Middlesex County College in Edison. His last visited New Jersey on Oct. 30, when he led rallies for Corzine in Newark and Camden just a few days before the Democrat was defeated in his re-election bid by Republican Chris Christie.