Senator Tim Kaine D-VA, is leading a bipartisan group introducing a bill to add Military Spouses to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit target groups. The “Military Spouse Hiring Act” (S.3909 – A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make employers of spouses of military personnel eligible for the work opportunity credit), was introduced to the Senate Finance on March 23rd.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, provides employment tax credits to employers who hire people from qualified target groups of individuals who have faced significant barriers to employment. If passed, the tax credit for hiring a Qualified Military Spouse would be $2,400.
‘‘(16) QUALIFIED MILITARY SPOUSE.—The
term ‘qualified military spouse’ means any individual
who is certified by the designated local agency as
being (as of the hiring date) a spouse of a member
of the Armed Forces of the United States.’’.
“Congress has a responsibility to take care of our service members, veterans, and their families,” said Kaine. “That means helping America’s talented military spouses, who consistently make enormous sacrifices for our safety and security, access a wide range of work opportunities. Expanding the Work Opportunity Tax Credit is a commonsense step to help make that happen.”
12% of the nation’s 480,000 military spouses are unemployed and actively seeking work, the National Conference of State Legislatures estimates.
Military spouses consistently experience unemployment rates substantially higher than the national rate, and two thirds of employed active duty military spouses report underemployment. Frequent moves often stall military spouses’ upward career progression and force them to find new jobs.
Senators John Boozman, R-Arizona, Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, and Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota are co-sponsors of the bill.
Previous attempts to add Military Spouses to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit took place in 2021, and 2017.
Read more:
Kaine, Boozman, Hassan, & Rounds Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Boost Hiring of Military Spouses (Senate.gov)
Roughly 12% of military spouses are unemployed. Sen. Kaine thinks a tax break for employers could help. (Daily Press)
WOTC In the News: Reintroduction of the Military Spouse Hiring Act
Potential New WOTC Target Groups
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