Bill Would Provide Employers With Tax Credit for Hiring Unemployed Workers

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has introduced a measure that would provide businesses with tax incentives for hiring individuals in 2011 and 2012 who have been unemployed. The Job Creation Tax Credit Act of 2011 (S. 1271) would expand on certain provisions in the HIRE Act of 2010 by giving employers refundable tax credits of 15% of wages paid in 2011 and 10% of wages paid in 2012 for qualified new hires. Individuals deemed “qualified” would be those who (a) begin employment with the employer after the date of the bill’s enactment but before January 1, 2013; (b) have not been employed for more than 40 hours during the 60-day period before the date of hire; and (c) are not being hired to replace another employee unless that employee left work voluntarily or for cause. According to a press release on this bill, “the refundable nature of the credit means that struggling businesses can benefit from it even if they aren’t currently making profits.” This legislation has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

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