Small businesses could be getting a tax credit if a new bill passes in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Both North Carolina State Senator Gene McLaurin and State Representative Ken Goodman, of Rockingham, introduced companion bills on Tuesday.
Goodman filed legislation in the House, designed to help expand job growth in North Carolina, as did McLaurin. The freshman senator filed a bill called the Small Business New Job Creation Incentive. Both Senate Bill 255 and House Bill 263 are, “an act to create a tax credit for new jobs created by small businesses.”
If passed, House Bill 263 and Senate Bill 255 would allow small businesses to collect tax credits provided the business hires and retains employees for at least one year.
In both Senate Bill 255 and House Bill 263, a new job is defined as, “… a full-time job that represented a net increase in the number of the taxpayer’s employees statewide.”
The bill also says if the company hires a long-term unemployed person, they may qualify for an additional tax credit under this bill. The amount of the incentives is related to whether the jobs created are located in a Tier 1, 2, or 3 County — a designation given to counties by the NC Department of Commerce — based on their unemployment rate and other market factors.
“North Carolina is a great place for companies and their employees to flourish, and small businesses have become a vital component that make up our landscape,” Goodman said.
McLaurin said, “Our main focus is to create and maintain a strong workforce in our state.”
Goodman said he wants to make sure necessary incentives are provided for small companies to give them a chance to grow and prosper.
“Rep. Goodman and I believe it is important to train North Carolina workers and to be able to provide employment opportunities for them right here. We have to make sure to invest our tax dollars wisely in order to support these initiatives and also create further job growth in our economy,” McLaurin said.
Henry Antos, owner of Henry’s Uptown Cafe, said that because both pieces of legislation refer to full-time employees and not part-time employees, he doesn’t agree with the bill. “It’s hard to hire people full-time because of all the rules … ,” he said.
— Staff Writer Laura Edington can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at ledington@civitasmedia.com.
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