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The Senate is about to consider a slimmed-down version of the Baucus-Grassley jobs bill. Yet, whether it is Senator Reid’s slimmed down version or the all encompassing Baucus-Grassley bill, the problem remains, Congress is failing to consider a program that already exists to tackle unemployment and jobs creation — the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program (WOTC).
Reid’s slimmed down version, presumably making the process simpler and easier for businesses, includes a Social Security payroll tax exemption for those who have been unemployed for 60 days or more based upon certain calculations as well as a $1,000 business credit for unemployed individuals hired by an employer and whose employment meets certain criteria. A tax credit program whose purpose is to create jobs and uses hours and wages criteria? Sound familiar? It should.
The WOTC Program was designed and developed for exactly this purpose. It simply does not make sense to introduce yet another tax credit program oriented towards job creation.
The WOTC Program, along with the Welfare-to-Work Program, which has since been rolled into the WOTC Program, has eligibility and processing requirements which are meant to capture the full benefits of such a program for the economy as a whole — businesses, government, and individuals — while reducing the burden to businesses in doing so.
All Congress needs to do to promote job creation, reduce public assistance, and minimize the cost to government is to simply add the unemployed to the target groups qualifying for the WOTC Program — a simple, efficient, and cost effective solution.
Your company has already put in the infrastructure and processes to effectively recapture CASH BENEFITS for your organization via implementation of the WOTC Program. In many cases, the benefits of the Baucus-Grassley bill will cause a reduction in CASH BENEFITS to your company since the implementation of these `required changes’ will affect both additional personnel time and IT changes to payroll systems.
Few argue that getting people off of public assistance is a bad idea. However, if done incorrectly it can be ineffective and costly to the taxpayer. The WOTC Program was conceived and has evolved over the years to minimize the pitfalls of job tax credit programs such as those currently being proposed. Congress can avoid the long drawn out debates over how to implement a job creation program effectively for the unemployed with a simple legislative change to the WOTC Program.
So, why not tackle the high unemployment rate by using what already exists and is effective and efficient? Clearly there is a benefit to businesses within the existing WOTC Program. Let’s not reinvent the wheel. Do your part! Contact your Congressman and Senator NOW, and tell them that you don’t want to pay for more government programs that will impact your company’s cash flow.
Tell them to use EXISTING PROGRAMS, like WOTC, which the government already has in place, (which you’ve already spent money to implement and help fight unemployment) and help the US Economy. The WOTC Program achieves the goal of helping to create jobs in targeted areas and reducing labor costs, but not pay checks!
Fred Stiftel, President and Chief Executive Officer
Walton Management Services, Inc.
Ocean, NJ
1-732-531-7117 x16
This press release was distributed through PR Web by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.