Work Opportunity Tax Credits In The News

Keep up-to-date with the latest news on Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) with our blog. We monitor all the legislative news and updates to keep you informed. Here are some of the latest WOTC news updates from around the web this month:

The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012
The Senate Finance Committee has approved “The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012.”  The committee approved the package of more than $205 billion in tax cut extensions for families and businesses by a bipartisan vote of 19-5. 

Tax Credit expert Brian Kelly comments on the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012
CMS's tax credit expert Brian Kelly comments on the new The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 that includes provisions to extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through 2013, and retroactively back to the beginning of 2012.

Baucus/Hatch Bill Extends Work Opportunity Tax Credit
On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee completed markup of the Baucus/Hatch tax extenders bill by approving the bill on a vote of 19-5. The bill contains a two-year retroactive extension of the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) in its present form, through December 31, 2013.





Quinn signs bill to extend enterprise zones for 25 years
Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday signed into law a bill that extends the life span of special taxing districts by 25 years, encourages communities to compete for such districts and requires corporate reporting to help determine whether the districts are draining away tax revenue that otherwise would flow to state coffers.

Illinois Leaders Applaud Enterprise Zone Extension
Business leaders in the Illinois Valley area hailed the passage of a bill that extends the life of enterprise zones by an additional 25 years. Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new law extending the Illinois Enterprise Zone program. Public Act 97-905 should create greater long-term stability for businesses and attract more investment in Illinois by providing a 25-year extension of the program.

WOTC Hiring Veterans
Are you planning on hiring veterans in 2012? Learn about a new tax law change that affects employers who hire veterans in 2011 and 2012 with this IRS video.

Senator Blumenthal Promotes Hiring of Veterans
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal visited with veterans this week at Bristol’s Arna Machine to help promote hiring and tax credits.

Employer Network Promotes Jobs for Wounded Veterans
A national network of more than 100 U.S. employers is on a mission to find, hire and accommodate injured military veterans in the workplace. The Network of Champions, which grew out of a recruiting program for wounded former service members at Northrup Grumman, has spread largely by word of mouth. And it’s still growing—as is the need.

Social Media: The GPS for Finding Vets to Fill Jobs 
Social media can be a valuable tool for organizations looking to recruit military veterans who are transitioning to the civilian world, according to Lisa Rosser, a military recruiting expert.


Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our Blog to keep informed.

About CMS

CMS helps companies of all sizes save money by taking advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Call Brian Kelly at 1-800-517-9099 today to see if it makes sense for you.

Senator Blumenthal Promotes Hiring of Veterans

The CT News Junkie website reports that U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal visited with veterans this week at Bristol’s Arna Machine to help promote hiring and tax credits.

Nick Saucier, a former Army sniper who spent time in Afghanistan, has found that the skills he learned in the military now serve him well as a machinist. And his employer, Bristol’s Arna Machine, has been able to take advantage of a federal tax credit for hiring a veteran.

“What we’re trying to do here is make people more aware of the tax credits that exist,” Blumenthal said. “A lot of manufacturers could be taking advantage of them but aren’t because they’re simply unaware of them.” 

The size of the tax credit typically ranges from $2,000 to $3,000, depending on the status of the veteran the company hires, Blumenthal said. But manufacturers could receive up to $9,000 in special circumstances, like if the veteran is disabled.

Continue reading at the CT News Junkie website
 

Find out more about federal tax credits available for hiring veterans!
Learn more about WOTC on August 29th with Tax Credit expert Brian Kelly's free lunch & learn WOTC webinars: http://cmswotc.blogspot.com/2012/08/wotc-webinar.html

About CMS

CMS helps companies of all sizes save money by taking advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Call Brian Kelly at 1-800-517-9099 today to see if it makes sense for you.

WOTC Webinar: What’s new with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit?

CMS would like to invite you to join our resident Human Resources and Tax Credit Expert,  Brian Kelly, to find out what's new with the Work Opportunity Tax Credits. Brian will review the following, and answer any questions you may have about this extremely valuable tax credit.

• What’s new with the Work Opportunity Tax Credit? 
• What are the facts? 
• Which employees are eligible?
• How much can we save? 
• What does CMS WOTC do for me? 
• What does it take to get started?

WOTC for For-Profit Companies   

Starting Wednesday, August 29^th at 12:00 EST

WOTC for Non-Profit Companies

Starting Wednesday, August 29^th at 1:30 EST

To sign up for either session please click here, or call CMS at 1-800-517-9099 today.

About CMS

CMS helps companies of all sizes save money by taking advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Call Brian Kelly at 1-800-517-9099 today to see if it makes sense for you.

WOTC Hiring Veterans

Are you planning on hiring veterans in 2012? Learn about a new tax law change that affects employers who hire veterans in 2011 and 2012 with this IRS video.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our Blog to keep informed.

About CMS

CMS helps companies of all sizes save money by taking advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Call Brian Kelly at 1-800-517-9099 today to see if it makes sense for you.

Illinois Leaders Applaud Enterprise Zone Extension

Business leaders in the Illinois Valley area hailed the passage of a bill that extends the life of enterprise zones by an additional 25 years. Tuesday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new law extending the Illinois Enterprise Zone program. Public Act 97-905 should create greater long-term stability for businesses and attract more investment in Illinois by providing a 25-year extension of the program.

“We want our businesses to invest, grow and put more Illinois residents to work,” Quinn said in a press release issued Tuesday. “This new law provides employers with the long-term certainty they need to grow, and strengthens oversight standards to ensure accountability from businesses that participate in the program.”

Marci Duro, executive director of the Illinois Valley Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development, welcomed the news of the bill’s signing. “It’s not perfect,” Duro allowed. “There are a lot of other things we need to fix but it’s a positive.”

Besides the 25-year extension, the new law makes three significant changes to the state program:

• A new application process: Applicants seeking zone certification must meet three of 10 criteria including unemployment, infrastructure, plant closure/job loss, education, poverty rates, and high commercial and industrial vacancy.
• Establishment of an Enterprise Zone Board: Comprised of two agency heads and three gubernatorial appointees, the board will approve or deny zone applications after being certified and scored by regulators.
• Increased reporting requirements: Businesses must annually submit detailed reports if they receive tax benefits. Failure to report data shall result in ineligibility to receive incentives. 

The extension was filed as Senate Bill 3616 and passed unanimously out of both houses in the Illinois General Assembly.

Continue Reading Local Leaders applaud enterprise zone extension

Tax Credit expert Brian Kelly comments on the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012

CMS's tax credit expert Brian Kelly (pictured) comments on the new The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 that includes provisions to extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit through 2013, and retroactively back to the beginning of 2012:

"CMS has experienced the same process over the last 15 years of wondering if the Senate and Congress are going to pass legislation to continue the Federal Tax Credits (WOTC), for Employers to hire from targeted groups, including Veterans. We anticipate the credits getting renewed and going retroactively back to when they expired 12/31/2011.

Since our start as tax credit professionals, CMS professes to our clients to continue to process based on the 28 day window from employees hire date. Thus making sure we capture not only new tax credits but also any potential tax credits that go retroactively back to expiration date i.e. 12/31/2011."

 About CMS

CMS helps companies of all sizes save money by taking advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Call Brian Kelly at 1-800-517-9099 today to see if it makes sense for you.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our Blog to keep informed of any WOTC news and legislative updates.

The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012

The Senate Finance Committee has approved “The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012.”  The committee approved the package of more than $205 billion in tax cut extensions for families and businesses by a bipartisan vote of 19-5. 

This act includes an extension of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, as well as the new veteran's credits initiated with the Vow to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. The act extends the WOTC through 2013 and retroactively for 2012.

Work opportunity tax credit. 
This bill extends for two years, through 2013, the provision that allows businesses to claim a work opportunity tax credit equal to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages paid to new hires of one of eight targeted groups.   These groups include members of families receiving benefits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, qualified ex-felons, designated community residents, vocational rehabilitation referrals, qualified summer youth employees, qualified food and nutrition recipients, qualified SSI recipients, and long-term family assistance recipients.  Based on preliminary estimates, a two-year extension of this proposal is estimated to cost $1.8 billion over ten years.

Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors Work Opportunity Tax Credits.  
Currently businesses are allowed to claim a work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) for hiring qualified veterans in the following targeted groups and up to the following credit amounts:

• Veterans in a family receiving supplemental nutrition assistance:  $2,400
• Short-term unemployed veterans:  $2,400
• Service-related disabled veterans discharged from active duty within a year:  $4,800
• Long-term unemployed veterans:  $5,600
• Long-term unemployed service-related disabled veterans: $9,600

A credit against Social Security taxes is also available to tax-exempt employers. Transfers are made from general revenues to make the Social Security trust fund whole.  The provision expires on December 31, 2012.  The proposal would extend these credits for an additional year, though 2013.  Based on preliminary estimates, a one-year extension of this proposal is estimated to cost $125 million over ten years.

Max Baucus, (D-Mont), Chairman of the committee said that "Businesses need certainty so they can plan for the future. They need to know how transactions will be taxed. They need to know what income will be taxed. Without this certainty, they are less able to know how much money they have to hire new workers or invest in new technology or machinery, the engines that help our economy grow.

• Senator Max Baucus' full statement
• Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)  statement

Read the Senate Finance Committee The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 summary.