Will the WOTC law become permanent?

We are routinely asked by those with an interest about the future of the WOTC law given the vagaries of the current Congress.  You can rest assured that we keep a close watch on that and are heavily-invested in the legislative process.  You may be aware that the current WOTC law is set to expire at the end of 2013 and its continuation is subject to Congressional action.  A WOTC Solutions representative spent a number of days in Washington, D.C. recently to “take the pulse” of where things stand, including personal meetings with a number of key Congressional offices with more to come later in the summer.  The “bottom line” is that the leadership of the Republican-controlled U.S. House has decided that there will be no revenue bills passed and sent to the Senate until they consider the political timing to be right.  Under the Constitution all revenue bills must emanate in the House to be passed over to the Senate for amendments and conference. 

Eventually the House will be forced to pass tax/revenue legislation which will then be sent to the Senate for consideration and to compromise agreement on differences with the House version before it is then sent to the White House for the president’s signature. On the Senate side the Finance Committee is Chaired by Senator Max Bauchus (D, MT) who is a firm supporter of the WOTC and unlikely to approve any tax/revenue law that does not include extending or making the WOTC permanent.  And, in its summary of its own proposed budget the White House (for the first time in history) included the permanent extension of the WOTC to provide employers with much-needed stability so the law works as intended.  We are told on the House side that there is not likely to be much resistance to this compromise since the WOTC is a proven and effective law using market principles to incentivize employers help the “hard to hire” find work.

So, things appear to be positive for improved stabilization but we must all remain vigilant and continue communicating with our Congressional representatives to see this good law continued.  We will continue to keep you posted as the process continues. If you have specific questions or would like to contribute your own efforts, please send us an email and we will get you pointed in the right direction!