MEMBER NEWS

    3.     Click Hot Deals in the left-hand menu.

    4.     Click Add a Hot Deal.

    5.     Complete the fields in the Add a New Hot Deal screen.

    6.     Click Submit for Approval. (Again, this program is for special discounts for members to offer each other)

Upon approval, your Hot Deal will appear multiple places on zmchamber.com:

·     next to your name in the Business Directory

·     on your Member Information Page

·     and by category in a special listing of all Hot Deals

Jane Evans of JK Evans & Associates supplied this information on new tax breaks for small businesses that hire new workers.  A variety of business tax deductions and credits were created, extended and expanded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), this year's Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act and the Affordable Care Act. Because some of these changes are only available this year, eligible businesses only have a few months to take action and save on their taxes.

Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010, and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from the employer's share of Social Security tax on wages paid to these workers after March 18. In addition, for each qualified employee retained for at least a year whose wages did not significantly decrease in the second half of the year, businesses may claim a new hire retention credit of up to $1,000 per worker on their income tax return.

The work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) offers tax savings to businesses that hire employees belonging to various targeted groups. These groups include people ages 18 to 39 living in designated communities in 43 states and the District of Columbia, recipients of various types of public assistance, certain veterans, ex-felons and certain youth workers. The instructions for Form 8850 detail the requirements for each of these groups.