Treasury links 4.5 million new hires to tax credits

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 7/12/10 | David Lawder

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. businesses eligible for a new employment tax credit hired 4.5 million new employees from February to May, the Treasury Department said on Monday -- but it declined to draw a cause-and-effect conclusion.

"I would say that the jury is completely out on the number of jobs that will be added on net because of the HIRE Act," Treasury Assistant Secretary Alan Krueger said, referring to the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act passed in March.

Under the act, businesses that hire people who have been out of work for at least two months do not have to pay the Social Security payroll tax contribution equal to 6.2 percent of their wages through year-end. If the new hires remain employed for a full year, the company gets another $1,000 tax credit.

In a study released on Monday, the Treasury said qualifying firms would be eligible for a total of $5.1 billion in payroll tax savings so far, based on an average weekly wage of $513 for the new hires. If workers are kept for a full year, they would get another $3.4 billion in tax relief, making for a total of up to $8.5 billion in tax benefits -- if all these firms make claims for all 4.5 million workers.

...

With Republicans increasingly reluctant to approve new spending measures aimed at stimulating the economy, the Obama administration is trying to get as much mileage out of existing programs as possible. Although the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated the HIRE Act would cost about $13 billion, the program carries no cap on the amount of credits that can be earned through year end.

[goodnesswins]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....such jokers.

[KarlInOhio]

Treasury links 4.5 million new hires to tax credits

It also prevented the Canadian werewolf packs from attacking and kept the sun rising in the east.

[festusbanjo]

We got a memo 2 weeks ago to ask any new hires from this year if they would qualify for this program. We haven’t added positions but merely replacing through normal turnover. Face it, until this assclown and his anti business attitude and policies get run out of town, nobody (my own company included) will be adding any new positions.

[The Working Man]

Ok, now I’m confused. Didn’t last month’s jobs report show a major loss in jobs in the Fed Gov because of the Census people being let go and that only 19K jobs or so were created in the Private sector? And I recall that the jobs reports over the last six month’s were kind of abysmal.

So if my recollection is good then where oh where 4 million jobs come from and why weren’t hey in the jobs report?

[SeaHawkFan]

I’m sure there is no fraud associated with this program.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Never trust government figures, especially from these communists.

There are over 7,000,000 unemployed.

U-6 is over 17%.

There is a record number of people on SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program), somewhere around 40,000,000.

THEY ARE LYING.

[KarlInOhio]

The 19K is net, so if 119,000 people were hired and 100,000 were fired, laid off or quit, then you would have 19,000 jobs created. The administration would probably count all 119,000 hires as being caused by their tax credits.

[The Working Man]

So the old saying is still true.

Liars figure and figures lie.

[Wuli]

Its worse than the subsidies for clunkers project which only shifted future care sales to the period of the rebates.

ANY employer hiring someone during the tax credit period can claim the credit, whether or not they intended to hire someone in the first place.

The current employment figures reflect the uselessness of the credit, no matter how many employers claimed or claim it.

[Grams A]

And the other 93.8% is supposed to come from where?

[FlyingFish]

4.5 million new jobs created? Sure, but in which country...China, India, Brazil?

[The Comedian]

U.S. businesses eligible for a new employment tax credit hired 4.5 million new employees from February to May,

We fired them in June.

Trust me. It was hilarious.

Frowning takes 68 muscles.
Smiling takes 6.
Pulling this trigger takes 2.
I'm lazy.

[NonValueAdded]

Shorting Social Security and hastening the day of reckoning by $5B worth ... or won’t those workers get credit for the quarters worked?

[RatRipper]

“. . . new employment tax credit hired 4.5 million new employees from February to May, the Treasury Department said on Monday — but it declined to draw a cause-and-effect conclusion. . . .”

I’m glad you cleared that up. I love it when somebody is confident in their message and conclusions . . . / Sarc