Senate Passes the HIRE Act

The Senate passed the Hiring Incentive to Restore Employment Act (HIRE), H.R.2847 on February 24, 2010. It is unclear whether the House will pass this legislation. This is a stripped down version of the Reid jobs bill that includes:

• a $5000 payroll tax credit for companies that hire long unemployed workers
• a one year extension of the increased current expensing of capital expenditures (section 179 extension)
• an expansion of the Build American Bonds program
• a 2 year deferral of the worldwide interest allocation provisions
• the 30 % withholding tax on foreign banks, trusts, and corporations that fail to identify U.S. account holders (see prior coverage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and related provisions).