An Iowa congressman is pushing his colleagues to permanently renew an expiring tax credit given to businesses that hire military veterans.
With the House already adjourned for the year, Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, called this week for Congress to reinstate the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and make it retroactive to Jan. 1, 2014. The credit has been used to hire 50,000 veterans, Braley's office said.
The law provides a break of $2,400 to $9,600 to businesses that hire veterans. The amount of the credit a business receives depends on a number of factors including how long a veteran served and whether he or she is disabled.
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The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 9.9 percent in November. For all veterans, it was 6.7 percent.
To be eligible for the tax break, a business must hire a qualified veteran as defined by the IRS.
Eligible vets, the IRS says, are those who have "served on active duty (not including training) in the U.S. Armed Forces for more than 180 days or have been discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability, and has not had a period of active duty (not including training) of more than 90 days that ended during the 60-day period ending on the hiring date."
A veteran are also defined as eligible if he or she is:
- A member of a family receiving assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (food stamps) for at least a three-month period ending during the 12-month period ending on the hiring date.
- Unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least four weeks (whether or not consecutive) but less than six months in the one-year period ending on the hiring date.
- Unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least six months (whether or not consecutive) in the one-year period ending on the hiring date.
- Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and hired not more than one year after being discharged or released from active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability and unemployed for a period or periods totaling at least six months (whether or not consecutive) in the one-year period ending on the hiring date.
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