The Tire Industry Association (TIA) is lobbying Congress to apply the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) to disaster victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The WOTC was applied to employers who hired victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and it should be applied again, according to TIA.
The WOTC is a federal tax credit offered to employers who hire workers coming from underprivileged or chronically underemployed groups.
The idea of the WOTC, according to the U.S. Employment and Training Administration, is to “incentivize workplace diversity and facilitate access to good jobs for American workers.” Unemployed veterans, ex-felons and food stamp recipients are among the underprivileged groups identified under the WOTC. TIA has joined other members of the WOTC Coalition to urge Congress to reject restrictions to the application of the law to disaster victims.
“Currently, WOTC does not include disaster victims as a target group,” TIA said in a press release. “Disasters of the current magnitude will shut down thousands of firms, many of them permanently, leaving workers without places of employment.”
Allowing employers to claim WOTC for disaster victims would be a major help in the rebuilding process, according to TIA.
Related: TIA wants WOTC extension for victims of Harvey, Irma
CMS’s Brian Kelly recently spoke to a group of hundreds of CPA firms, during which he discussed his experience with Hurricane Katrina and WOTC. “Looking back at Hurricane Katrina,” he told the webinar attendees, “and how it relates to the recent hurricanes in Texas, Louisiana and Florida. Irma engulfed the entire state of Florida, it was much larger. We supported employers in 2005 and 2006 to help them obtain tax credits after the hurricane. We certainly are encouraging congress to take swift action on this to support employers.”
About CMS Tax Credit Services
CMS has worked with WOTC since 1997, and we have found over the years that on average 10-15% of all new employees can fall into one of the tax credit categories that qualify for a tax credit. The average credit received is between $1,500 – $9,600 per qualified new hire depending on the target group. Some of our customers have saved a phenomenal $100,000 in a single year.
How Much Can We Save You?
To find out your potential savings, please see our WOTC Calculator. There’s never been a better time to learn about WOTC. Please contact us at 800-517-9099 to speak to a Work Opportunity Tax Credit expert today.