The following letter is from Paul Suplizio, President of the WOTC Coalition.  It was addressed to Mr. Kareem A. Dale, Special Assistant to the President, on Thursday March 1, 2012 (yesterday) and is re-published here with permission.
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March 1, 2012
The Honorable Kareem A. Dale
Special Assistant to the President
The White House
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Dale:
Congress has allowed several tax incentives important to the economy to expire, including the research and development tax credit, work opportunity tax credit for all but veterans, Indian employment tax credit, employer child care tax credit, new markets tax credit, empowerment zones tax incentives, and several others.
All these are related importantly to jobs, and their $40 billion in tax expenditure would boost the economy. WOTC is especially needed to continue equal opportunity in the labor market—otherwise chronically unemployed workers will continue to experience low job prospects even as the economy recovers.
This applies with extra force to people with disabilities, large numbers of whom have withdrawn from the labor force over the span of the recession due to discouragement.
Please bring this matter to the attention of Mr. Sperling and the National Economic Council’s policy staff urgently. The House shows no signs of moving, but Senate Democrats led by Majority Leader Harry Reid and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus have made renewal of the tax extenders a high priority. For a long time the so-called “tax extenders” have enjoyed bi-partisan support, so it’s possible they might prevail on a cloture vote.
Nevertheless, no bill has been introduced nor vote scheduled in the Senate thus far. The NEC should signal to Senator Reid the Administration’s hope that a bill of “tax relief for families, farmers, ranchers, and businesses” (as the extenders have been described in the past) will be brought to the Senate soon.
To allow these incentives to remain expired till the end of the year, or until tax reform comes up, would be disruptive and add to economic uncertainty; in the case of WOTC, it would undermine the Administration’s commitment to equal opportunity for all workers in the labor market.
A complete list of these eighty or so “tax extenders” is given at the web site of the Joint Committee on Taxation, http://www.jct.gov. See JCX-1-12.
Thank you for the opportunity to bring this matter to your attention. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 703-587-4566.
Sincerely,
PAUL E. SUPLIZIO
President, WOTC Coalition