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Senate Committee on Finance Holds Hearing on Tax Extenders (Including WOTC)

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Parallel to the House-Senate conference on extending the payroll tax cut, the Senate Committee on Finance is holding a special hearing on Tuesday to examine the 50 or more tax extenders that expired in December. The hearing is titled: Extenders and Tax Reform: Seeking Long-Term Solutions.

According to a Monday article in Accounting Today,

At Tuesday’s hearing, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., ranking Republican member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and the witnesses will discuss how best to approach tax extenders in order to create certainty and allow businesses to invest confidently and create jobs.

Witnesses scheduled to testify include Rutgers University economics department chair Rosanne Altshuler, George Mason University senior research fellow Jason J. Fichtner, University of Texas law professor Calvin H. Johnson, and U.S Chamber of Commerce chief tax counsel Caroline L. Harris.

Many of these details can be had on the hearing’s page on Senate Committee on Finance’s website. Click here.

Submit a Statement for the Record (We all should do this now)

You and your organization or business can submit a statement to the committee to get your views into the record. It’s a simple process but there are a few details of protocol that must be observed. The following is copied directly from the Senate website (emphasis added by underlining).

Any individual or organization wanting to present their views for inclusion in the hearing record should submit a typewritten, single-spaced statement, not exceeding 10 pages in length. Title and date of the hearing, and the full name and address of the individual or organization must appear on the first page of the statement. Statements must be received no later than two weeks following the conclusion of the hearing.

Statements should be mailed (not faxed) to:

Senate Committee on Finance
Attn. Editorial and Document Section
Rm. SD-219
Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-6200b

Posted in Federal Legislation | No Responses »
Tags: Calvin H. Johnson, Caroline L. Harris, Jason J. Fichtner, payroll tax cut, Rosanne Altshuler, Senate Committe on Finance, Senator Max Baucus, Senator Orrin Hatch, Tax Extenders

WOTC Call to Action – New Developments for WOTC and Tax Extenders

Friday, January 27th, 2012

There are new developments in the effort to include WOTC and other tax-extenders in the upcoming payroll tax cut bill. A Senate-House conference is currently negotiating to extend the payroll tax cut, which expires in February.

Paul Suplizio, President of the WOTC Coalition, reports that Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp is “waving off in advance an expected offer from Senator Baucus” to include tax extenders in the bill. Max Baucus is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Mr. Suplizio goes on to explain, however, that while Chairman Camp’s statements should be taken seriously they do not halt the current tax-extenders discussion.

The Senate and President Obama both want the tax extenders in the bill. As a result, WOTC and other tax extenders have become a negotiating chip for Chairman Camp and the House Republicans who want to include other important but controversial provision in the bill.

For WOTC supporters, our job now is at least two-fold. (1) We must persuade Senate conferees to INSIST on including WOTC and the other extenders in the bill. And (2) we must persuade House Speaker Boehner that it will be in the House Republicans’ interest to agree on their inclusion.

Paul Suplizio said it well in a recent correspondence to members of the WOTC Coalition.

“We need to drive home to Speaker Boehner that not including the extenders is putting House Republicans on record as favoring a tax increase on businesses, farmers, communities, and workers—a tax increase they don’t need at this stage of the recovery.”

Is your fax machine and telephone working? Time is short. Time to roll.

Posted in Federal Legislation, Work Opportunity Tax Credit | No Responses »
Tags: Paul Suplizio, payroll tax cut, Representative Dave Camp, Senator Max Baucus, Tax Extenders, WOTC, WOTC Coalition, WOTC Extention

Senators Baucus and Reid — Tax Extenders Should Be Included In Payroll Tax Cut Deal

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Negotiations are on again to extend the 2011 payroll tax cut until the end of 2012. The House-Senate Conference met on Tuesday — the first time this year — and the road to an agreement appears rocky. Optimism is alive – but there are also some big disagreements to sort through.

Both sides of the discussion agree that a deal must be made before the end of February when the current 2-month extension expires.

Of great interest to us is the question of the other tax extenders. The House of Representative’s payroll tax cut proposal does not include the tax extenders or WOTC. However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus are reported to have both suggested today that the Conference should examine the expired tax provisions at this time. (See today’s article in The Hill, scroll down to end.)

Democrats are looking to possibly tuck other provisions into a payroll-tax deal. On Tuesday, Baucus and Reid both suggested that the conference committee examine tax provisions that expired at the end of 2011 — the so-called tax extenders.

On the other hand,

The [House] Ways and Means Committee chairman [Republican Dave Camp] also told reporters after the meeting that conferees should first try to resolve core issues — such as the payroll-tax cut, unemployment benefits and the Medicare “doc fix” — and leave other issues until the end of the negotiations.

“I think initially we need to have a pretty strict scope of conference,” Camp said. “Let’s figure out what we have been tasked with doing.”

Representative Camp is well aware of WOTC and has been the focus of significant lobbying efforts. We are keeping our fingers crossed. Keep your phone and fax machine ready. The conference members need to hear from you.

Renewal of WOTC and Payroll Tax Cut Still Possible This Year

Monday, December 19th, 2011

If you’ve been following the news during the past few days, you might be aware that Congressional leaders are sparring over legislation to extend the existing payroll tax cut. Over the weekend, the Senate rejected the House’s proposal and responded with a proposed 2-month extension, obviously intended to buy time for further negotiations.

Neither version of the legislation included WOTC nor other sought after tax-extenders. This is not, however, the end of the game.

The limited 2-month extension is not looked upon favorably by the House Republican leadership, which is demanding a full year. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill this evening.

According to Bloomberg,

With the House set to return to Washington [Monday], Republican leaders are studying their options, Laena Fallon, a spokeswoman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican, said in an e-mail.

When the House meets [Monday evening], it will either vote to amend the Senate-passed measure “so that it is responsible and in line with the needs of hard-working taxpayers and middle class families” or vote to appoint representatives to a House-Senate conference to reconcile differences between the two chambers, she said.

Got that? The House will either amend the Senate bill and return it. Or it will vote to appoint a conference with the Senate to negotiate revisions. If the House does call for a conference, the Senate leadership (aka Senator Harry Reid) could accept or reject it. But rejecting it in that case would result in a tax increase on January 1 as the payroll tax reduction expires. Not a pretty political sight.

If a conference is called, Paul Suplizio, President of the WOTC Coalition sees still another opportunity to get WOTC and other tax extenders passed this year.

“If it gets to a conference, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan would be one of the conferees for the House (he was floor manager for the House bill) and Finance Chairman Max Baucus of Montana a likely conferee for the Senate.”

“Chairman Camp has been the target of much of our lobbying and knows the situation of WOTC and the extenders. Senator Baucus has been a champion for including WOTC and the other extenders in the payroll bill.”

If you have any opportunity to encourage Representative Dave Camp or Senator Max Baucus, now is the time. Senator Harry Reid and his friends in the Whitehouse should also be contacted. Senator Reid will likely require encouragement from the Whitehouse to include WOTC and other tax extenders in any negotiated resolution to this legislative conflict.

Posted in Work Opportunity Tax Credit | 4 Responses »
Tags: Paul Suplizio, Representative Dave Camp, Senator Harry Reid, Senator Max Baucus, Tax Credits, Tax Extenders, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Work Opportunity Tax Credit, WOTC, WOTC Coalition

More Senators Want to Reinstate Unemployed Veteran WOTC Group

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) office issued the following press release yesterday. Interest in restoring WOTG Target Group “J” (Unemployed Veteran) has been growing since the legislation that created the category expired on December 31, 2010. Target Group K (Disconnected Youth) also expired on December 31.

While this new legislation would reinstate the tax credit, the typical WOTC certification process would be in some manner bypassed for the sake of simplicity. Based on the news coverage and press releases I have seen, it remains unclear to me if this credit would actually be part of the WOTC regime or if it would stand alone in some way separately.

My guess is that it will be similar to the former Hurricane Katrina victims WOTC Group, which also did not require certification. In that case, employees simply stated on their WOTC Prescreening Form that they lived in one of the counties affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I wll follow up on this question at another time. . . .

<begin press release:

Blumenthal Joins Bipartisan Call for Veterans Employment Tax Credit

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today announced that he is supporting and cosponsoring the bipartisan VETs Jobs Bill that would reinstate a tax credit for businesses that hire veterans who have left the service within the last five years. In addition, the bill would simplify the process for employers accessing the tax credit and for service members looking to prove their veteran status.

“Courageous men and women have served and sacrificed, and they deserve a pay check instead of an unemployment line,” said Blumenthal. “The unemployment rate for our veterans remains far too high and I am proud to join in this bipartisan effort to increase veterans’ job opportunities and provide resources to them and their families.”

Nationwide, the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans averaged 11.5 percent in 2010, up from about 7 percent in 2008. This number is even higher for young veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. The Department of Labor estimates that at least 1 in 5 young veterans are unemployed.

The VETs Jobs Bill, or Veterans Employment Transition Act, introduced by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), reinstates a tax credit that expired in 2010 and aims to provide financial incentives for employers who make a commitment to hiring veterans. The tax credit is worth up to $2,400 per veteran hired.

In addition, the bill makes it easier for employers to receive the tax credit by eliminating bureaucratic hurdles and simplifies the process for veterans seeking to document their service. Currently, the process of becoming a certified veteran is lengthy and the VETs Jobs Bill would allow discharge papers to be shown to allow employers to qualify for the credit.

Other co-sponsors of the VETs Jobs Bill include Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). The VETs Jobs Bill is supported by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the National Guard Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

# # #

Press Contact

Ty Matsdorf or Kate Hansen, (202) 224-2823
Ty_Matsdorf@blumenthal.senate.gov; Kate_Hansen@blumenthal.senate.gov

Posted in Federal Legislation | No Responses »
Tags: Hurrican Katrina Employees, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, National Guard Association, Senator Chuck Grassley, Senator Jon Tester, Senator Max Baucus, Senator Richard Burr, Unemployed Veterans, Unemployed Workers, unemployment, Veterans Employment Transition Act, Veterans of Foreign Wars, VETs Jobs Bill, WOTC, WOTC Targeted Groups

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