Trenton – In an effort to increase the employment of veterans and military spouses, the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee today approved two bills that would expand tax credit programs.

The first bill, S-282, sponsored by Senator Linda Greenstein and Senator Troy Singleton, entitled “The New Jersey Battleground to Boardroom Act” would provide a corporation business tax credit and a gross income tax credit to employers for the hiring of certain veterans from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2024.

“Veterans often face unemployment at higher levels as the transition from military service to the civilian workforce following their deployment,” said Senator Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “Through this tax credit we hope to encourage businesses to hire and retain veterans as employees.”

“For veterans, a major part of a successful transition to civilian life is securing a good job,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington). “These honorable men and women would be excellent contributors in the civilian workplace, so encouraging employers to consider them when hiring truly is a win-win for all parties involved.”

Under the bill, an employer would be provided with a credit for 10% of the wages paid to a qualified veteran during the course of sustained employment. In order to qualify for the credit, the bill would require the employer comply with a series of conditions including having 25% of its new employees be qualified veterans during a tax year and 50% of the qualified veterans hired retaining their jobs in a year prior to a tax year.

The second bill, S-509, sponsored by Senator Andrew Zwicker and Senator Joseph Cryan, would establish the Military Spouse Employment Tax Credit Program to provide tax credits to employers for hiring nonresident military spouses.

“Recent studies have shown that military spouse unemployment has remained five times higher than the civilian population, and those that are employed earn much less than their spouses,” said Senator Zwicker (D-Middlesex/Mercer/Somerset/Hunterdon). “It is our hope that this legislation can work to improve those numbers here in New Jersey and make it a more welcoming place for military families to live and grow.”

“Frequent moves due to a spouse’s military assignments can make it difficult for the spouse to find a job due to a potential employer’s fear of relocation,” said Senator Cryan (D-Union). “This bill would help to rectify this problem by incentivizing employers to hire military spouses because of the tax credits. These military families have earned this assistance by their service to our country.”

Under the bill, the amount of tax credit provided to an employer would be dependent upon the number of hours the nonresident military spouse employee worked.