GOVERNMENT AID RECIPIENTS RECEIVE PREFERENCE IN HIRING

I received an e-mail today from someone I know that asked an interesting question:

"An acquaintance at work told me a story today. Her husband is laid off and has applied on line to some of the retail outlets. One set of questions asks if the applicant has received any public assistance for education, unemployment, tarp type money. She found out that the companies get tax credits for hiring people that have received these benefits. So, if this is a question on the applications that is answered “yes,” they can filter by that and hire only applicants that will give them tax credits. Should this be accurate, if you get laid off, don’t take the govt assistance and do whatever you have to in order to make your own way, you are discriminated against."

I did a little searching and the answer to the question is yes, people that accept government aid are given preferential treatment by some employers. The reason for this can be found at the IRS website. From the website dated March 18, 2010:

"Two new tax benefits are now available to employers hiring workers who were previously unemployed or only working part time. These provisions are part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act enacted into law today.

Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers after March 18, 2010. This reduced tax withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits, and employers would still need to withhold the employee’s 6.2-percent share of Social Security taxes, as well as income taxes. The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to these wages.

In addition, for each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

“These tax breaks offer a much-needed boost to employers willing to expand their payrolls, and businesses and nonprofits should keep these benefits in mind as they plan for the year ahead,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.

The two tax benefits are especially helpful to employers who are adding positions to their payrolls. New hires filling existing positions also qualify but only if the workers they are replacing left voluntarily or for cause. Family members and other relatives do not qualify.

In addition, the new law requires that the employer get a statement from each eligible new hire certifying that he or she was unemployed during the 60 days before beginning work or, alternatively, worked no more than 40 hours for anyone during the 60-day period. The IRS is currently developing a form employees can use to make the required statement.

Businesses, agricultural employers, tax-exempt organizations and public colleges and universities all qualify to claim the payroll tax benefit for eligible newly-hired employees. Household employers cannot claim this new tax benefit.

Employers claim the payroll tax benefit on the federal employment tax return they file, usually quarterly, with the IRS. Eligible employers will be able to claim the new tax incentive on their revised employment tax form for the second quarter of 2010. Revised forms and further details on these two new tax provisions will be posted on IRS.gov during the next few weeks."

So here's the deal. Businesses can make out on their taxes if they hire unemployed workers but they have to be able to prove that the worker was unemployed. The simplest way to do this is to hire someone that has been receiving government unemployment benefits of some sort.

In other words, if you are resourceful and have managed to avoid going on the dole after losing your job, YOU'LL BE PENALIZED!!! WTF? What in the hell is the matter with this country? Every single thing that the government does creates more and more dependence on it.

Is there some sort of evil pattern in place here? Do you kinda' sometimes feel like there's a plan, a design to destroy our independence and freedom?

Are you sick of it yet - sick enough to get informed, speak out and JUST SAY NO??!!!