Extension of 'Hire-A-Vet' tax credit a highlight of new state budget ~ Weak economy has been especially hard on returning vets (UPDATED, May 5)

Elmira, N.Y., April 28—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats) today said that one of the highlights of the new state budget is a two-year extension of the state’s Hire-A-Vet tax credit to encourage businesses throughout New York to hire returning veterans.

O’Mara strongly supported and co-sponsored the establishment of the Hire-A-Vet credit in 2013.

“It’s an investment in the future of returning veterans,” said O’Mara. “It’s a tough economy all around, but the impact has been especially hard on veterans returning home during this recession to a weak private-sector economy.  Returning servicemen and servicewomen have had a hard time finding work and that’s particularly true for wounded veterans.  We believe this tax credit is a worthwhile way to recognize their service and we hope it will help encourage economic opportunities and jobs for returning military men and women who have so much to offer.”

[see the attached article from May 5, 2016 Corning Leader]   

O’Mara highlighted federal Bureau of Labor statistics from 2012 showing that unemployment reached a staggering 20 percent for veterans under the age of 30 who had recently returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Moreover, statistics show that a significant number of recently returned veterans report service-connected disabilities.

Beginning in 2014, businesses became eligible for the state tax break after employing a post-9/11 veteran for one year.  The credit equals up to 10% of a veteran’s salary – 15% of a disabled veteran’s salary – with the credit capped at $5,000 for a non-disabled vet and $15,000 for a disabled vet.  Find out more about the credit from the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs at: http://www.veterans.ny.gov/content/hire-vet-credit  

O’Mara said that the Senate first advanced the idea of a “Hire-a-Vet” tax credit in 2012 as part of a comprehensive “New Jobs-NY” economic development program that he co-sponsored.

The credit was established, on a two-year basis, as part of the final 2013-14 state budget.