On March 18, 2010 the President signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act of 2010 (“HIRE”) into law. HIRE provides $13 billion worth of tax incentives to businesses in the form of –
(1) Temporary payroll tax relief for employers who hire individuals that have been unemployed at least 60 days;
(2) An income tax credit equal to 6.2% of paid wages (up to $1,000) for each new employee retained for at least 52 weeks;
(3) Higher limits for small business deductions under Section 179 (increased to a maximum deduction of $250,000); and
(4) Credits to issuers of qualified tax credit bonds used to construct schools and energy-related projects (benefits mostly state and local governments and their ability to fund infrastructure projects).
In addition to the tax incentives, HIRE included new rules relating to foreign bank account compliance. The new rules include a 30% withholding tax penalty on foreign financial institutions that withhold U.S. account holder information from the IRS, a requirement that U.S. taxpayers disclose foreign accounts on their U.S. tax returns, an extension of the statute of limitations to six years for failing to report offshore income or transactions, and other special provisions relating to foreign trusts, substitute dividend payments and worldwide interest. Finally, HIRE increased estimated income tax payments for corporations with asset values of at least $1 billion for the third quarters of 2014, 2015 and 2019.
