Casey Introduces First Bill of New Congress – Measure Focuses on Job Creation

Small Businesses Across Pennsylvania Stand to Benefit

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) unveiled his first bill of the new Congress, the Small Business Job Creation Act of 2013, which will give a tax break to businesses that hire new workers and increase wages. Based on current average weekly earnings of private sector employees, a business would receive a tax break of approximately $4,250 over the course of the year for hiring an additional employee.

“My top priority continues to be job creation, said Senator Casey.  “This measure is a common-sense step to incentivize small businesses to hire,” said Senator Casey. “Helping small businesses expand, protecting the middle class and fueling the economy is something both Republicans and Democrats should support.”  

The Small Business Job Creation Act of 2013 would:

• Provide a tax credit of 10 percent of the excess year over year payroll increases. 
• The credit is calculated by quarter and is a payroll tax (FICA) credit.   
• In order to target the tax credit to small businesses, the proposed credit is capped at $500,000 per firm.
• While it targeted to small businesses, all firms can benefit.
• For companies with 100 or more employees, the increase in payroll must exceed 3 percent of qualified payroll for the quarter in the preceding year to qualify for the credit.

Senator Casey has led the fight to extend tax breaks for working families and small businesses.  Senator Casey was a supporter of an income tax break, which gave working families across Pennsylvania an extra thousand dollars on average.  He also led the fight for the 2 percent payroll tax cut for workers that was enacted for 2011 and 2012.  He also led in the effort to help small businesses hire workers, introducing the Small Business Job Creation Tax Act (S. 1330) in 2010 and 2009 to encourage businesses to add jobs and reverse cuts in salaries and worker hours.

A county-by-county breakdown of the number of Pennsylvania small businesses that could benefit from Senator Casey’s legislation is below:

Pennsylvania Establishments by Size of Business, 2009 

Note: An establishment is defined as a single physical location where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed. Establishment sizes are based on the employment size of the firm in all industries and locations.

Source: JEC Democratic Staff based on data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau.