Article
NRA praises passage of jobs bill
The legislation includes hiring incentives and extends the temporary increase in expensing for small businesses.
March 17, 2010
The National Restaurant Association has applauded the Senate's passage of a $17.6 billion jobs bill. The legislation that will help many small business owners in the restaurant industry create jobs, the association announced.
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (H.R. 2847) extends the temporary increase in expensing for small businesses and includes a payroll tax holiday and tax credit for employers who hire and retain certain employees. President Obama signed the bill today, according to the Associated Press.
"We are pleased that this package includes incentives to protect small businesses and create jobs," said Dawn Sweeney, NRA president and CEO. "This package is good for the economy, and is positive news for the restaurant industry. Every dollar spent dining out generates $2.34 in business for other industries. "As the nation's second-largest private sector employer with a workforce of nearly 13 million, the restaurant industry has enormous potential to create the jobs America needs. The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act will fuel our industry's job-creation efforts for the benefit of the economy and our entire country," she said. Last month, the NRA sent aletterto members of the U.S. Senate supporting these tax provisions. Under the payroll tax holiday, employers who hire long-term unemployed workers would not be required to pay the worker's 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax, up to the maximum social security taxable wage of $106,800, for the duration of 2010. In addition, the bill includes a job retention credit that allows employers to claim a credit on their 2011 tax return for each retained employee. The bill also provides an extension through 2010 of the temporary increase in the annual amount small businesses can expense from $125,000 to $250,000. While supportive of the jobs bill provisions, the association also has strongly advocated for other tax provisions that would create additional restaurant industry job growth. The association has urged Congress to complete work on legislation that would retroactively extend the 15-year depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction through 2010. In addition, the association has advocated for Congress to increase the deduction for business meals and entertainment from 50 to 80 percent — something that would help restaurants, small businesses, and the overall economy.
　
The Senate had passed the bill last month, but it was modified by the House, requiring a second Senate vote. Economic experts and some lawmakers have questioned whether the bill goes far enough to actually boost hiring, the Washington Post reported after the House approved the bill.
From the story:
Rep. Tom Price(Ga.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, predicted that the bill would not make a significant dent in the unemployment rate. "Any company that can't afford to hire today still won't be able to hire if this bill becomes law," Price said. "Calling this a 'jobs' bill is pure fraud."
More legislation to help small businesses and industry could be on the way, according to the Los Angeles Times.
From the story:
The House is currently considering a $140 billion package passed by the Senate last week that contains a series of industry-friendly tax breaks such as a credit for research and development as well as extensions of unemployment benefits and COBRA insurance subsidies for the unemployed through the rest of the year. The Senate is expected to turn its attention to legislation that would provide struggling small businesses with increased access to credit.
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