By Karen E. Klein
The Los Angeles Times
Dear Karen: Is the tax credit for hiring formerly unemployed people going to stay in effect for 2011?
Answer: The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, or HIRE Act, was signed in March as part of President Obama’s $18-billion jobs bill, but it expires at the end of this year, said Brandon Edwards, chief executive of the Tax Credit Co. in Los Angeles.
The act provides businesses with an exemption from Social Security payroll taxes for every worker hired this year who had been unemployed for at least 60 days before the hiring. To qualify, companies are also allowed to hire workers who were formerly full-time students, contractors or self-employed, and to rehire workers who were laid off by the same company.
“There was bipartisan support in the Senate for extending the HIRE Act before the [midterm] election,” Edwards said. “Let’s hope that continues during the next session. It has been greatly beneficial to small business.”
Click here to read the full article
