Retraining Tax Credit Update
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We talked with Pam Griffin, who administers the Retraining Tax Credit program for the state. Here are some key items she told us that are new for 2009: - $1,250 Cap. There still is a $500 per program per employee per year restriction, but starting in 2009 the most that can be claimed for one employee is $1,250 per year.
- Approved Retraining. Narrows the definition of approved retraining to exclude any retraining on commercially, mass produced software packages for word processing, data base management, presentations, spreadsheets, e-mail, personal information management, or computer operating systems, unless it is completed by those providing support or training on such software.
- One-Year Look-Back. Requires that the credit be claimed within 1 year, starting with the 2009 tax year, instead of the previous 3-year look-back period.
- Technical colleges re-organized. Many of the technical colleges have been consolidated as part of the state's cost cutting program, and many of the folks who approve the Retraining Credits have or will be changed. The final changes will be made in July 2010. We'll keep you posted.
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Help with Adding New Jobs
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As the economy improves (hopefully!) and your clients start adding new jobs, they may want to utilize some beneficial "no-cost" offerings from the State of Georgia: - Work Ready. We met with Ann Sechrist, Director of Economic Development at Gwinnett Technical College. She described a no-cost service provided by the Technical College System of Georgia called Work Ready. Companies can utilize this service to help find higher quality employees as well as get assistance with EEOC compliance. Job applicants with Work Ready certificates are pre-tested for math, reading and other core skills that companies require. Several other related services might also help your clients get Work Ready employees (click here).
Georgia Works. The Georgia Department of Labor has a program that provides companies with prospective employees at no cost for up to 6 weeks. The company and the prospective employee are be able to evaluate the best fit during this time period. For additional information about this and other related services, click here.
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Quick Update -- Legislation
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Today is supposed to be the last day of the 2010 Georgia legislative session, and so far, we have not seen any significant tax credit changes.
Some items of interest include:
HB 1405 (click here) - Creates a "Special Council on Tax Reform and Fairness for Georgians"
and the "Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure" to study the state's current revenue structure (including tax credits) and make recommendations for changes starting in 2011.
SB 374 (click here) - Creates a "Legislative Economic Development Council" and a "Citizens Advisory Committee" to review all state economic development programs, incentives and related activities on a regular basis and recommend changes.
It looks like a lot of councils, committees and meetings to analyze, study, review and recommend changes that could affect tax credits. Neither of these bills has been signed by Governor Purdue yet. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2011, especially with a new governor leading our state. Stay tuned!
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About Us
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Alpharesults has assembled a team with the specialized knowledge and approach required to obtain Georgia income tax credits. We are not a public accounting firm. Rather, our services complement those of public accounting firms and do not create conflicted loyalties, because our professionals do not perform attestation work or other external audit functions.
We focus on small to medium-sized businesses and work exclusively in Georgia with a wide variety of in-state and out-of-state accounting firms. For more information on our services, follow this link.
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