The Tire Industry Association and members of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Coalition has begun to lobby Congress to apply WOTC to recent natural disasters to help businesses recover from the devastation.
TIA has written to members of Congress urging them to reject restrictions to WOTC’s use during disasters that have occurred in recent years, and return to the very effective Hurricane Katrina formula. Currently, WOTC does not include disaster victims as a target group. By including disaster victims as a target group, thousands of employers will be able to claim WOTC for disaster victims that they employ. All employers will be encouraged to employ hurricane victims, and production and employment in the region’s economy will improve as the number of firms, old and new, increases with WOTC’s aid.
TIA strongly recommends that Congress follow the Katrina model and establish a new target group designating Hurricane Harvey victims as WOTC-eligible “disaster employees,” defined as individuals whose principal place of abode was in the disaster area on the date of the disaster declaration.