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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 11, 2013 12:23 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Daylin Leach |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Tax Incentives for Employers Who Hire Ex-Felons |
| In the near future, I plan to re-introduce legislation which would provide tax incentives for employers who provide employment to ex-offenders recently released from correctional facilities. This legislation is influenced by a Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole study which offered staggering statistics on this growing demographic. As many of you may know, inmate populations on a national and state level are at all time highs. One out of 31 American adults are under some type of correctional supervision, with over 47,000 inmates here in our Commonwealth. Recidivism rates are extremely high for these individuals due to employment barriers as a result of their incarceration. Presently 6 states provide these tax credits for the first two years to employers who hire felons. For each taxable year a credit is allowed in an amount equal to 30% of up to the first $6,000 of the wages paid to the qualified ex-felon in the first year of employment, and 20% in the preceding year. Qualified felons shall be released for no more than a year prior to their employment, and work at least twenty hours per week. This legislation will help alleviate criminal justice expenditures which cripple our state budget, and provide incentives for safer streets within our Commonwealth communities. |
Introduced as SB536