Speaker is friend of small business
September 9, 2021
George Xiarhos
Sam’s NY System
Warwick
It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on Rhode Island small businesses. As Sam’s NY System and our other friends in the small business community begin the long process of recovery, I want to thank Rhode Island’s Speaker Joe Shekarchi for the support he’s provided to us while we struggled through limited patronage, including not raising taxes.
As previously reported in this paper, the Speaker said it best when he spoke to the Warwick Rotary Club, “a tax on beverages containing sugar would have hurt small businesses.” And while we are grateful for the financial support the state and federal government have offered, like grants and loans that helped keep our doors open, we know what a new tax would have done to businesses. Establishments like ours are essential to our local community, creating stable jobs and fostering economic growth in our state.