U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) have reintroduced the Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Act to build the U.S. workforce and help connect individuals to good jobs. Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.). WOTC is an important tax preference that has been utilized for nearly three decades to build workforces in local communities across the country.
AGC appreciates that this legislation takes important steps to strengthen WOTC, the first significant improvements since the credit’s creation in 1996. The benefits to improving and expanding WOTC are countless. WOTC-eligible workers live in every state in the United States. An expanded credit would help target communities with lower workforce participation rates and provide relief to essential industries that are facing workforce shortages.
The Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act would:
- Update the WOTC, which has not been changed since its enactment twenty-seven years ago and encourage longer-service employment;
- Increase the current credit percentage from 40% to 50% of qualified wages;
- Add a second level of credit for employees who work 400 or more hours; and
- Eliminate the arbitrary age cap at which SNAP recipients are eligible for WOTC. This change will provide an incentive to hire older workers and better align the credit with previously adopted work reforms.
For more information, please contact Jim Young.