Manchin, Rockefeller on Opposite Sides of Jobs Bill - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

A bill that would offer tax credits to small businesses who hire more workers has drawn the support of one of West Virginia's senators while the other said he voted against that bill for fear of adding to the national deficit.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., voted in support of Senate Bill 2237, the Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act. The bill was up for a motion to invoke cloture July 12, but that motion was rejected 53-44. Rockefeller said he supports the bill because it encourages small businesses to grow.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," he said in a statement. "By incentivizing them to expand, we're building our economy and helping more people to get good paying jobs. This bill contains important reforms that we should all agree on — tax cuts for pay raises, hiring and spending on new equipment that will make it easier for small businesses to succeed and strengthen economic recovery, without having any of those tax cuts go to wealthy Americans."

The bill would make employers eligible for a 10 percent tax credit based on the amount they increase their 2012 payrolls from the previous year. The tax credit would be capped and only apply to small businesses. Larger companies wouldn't be able to take advantage of the credit. To encourage businesses to expand their operations and invest in machinery and equipment, the bill would extend a provision allowing them a 100 percent tax deduction on their capital investments through the end of the year.

Sen. Joe Manchin, also D-W.Va., said the bill is a good idea in theory, but doesn't address the problem of job creation and could add to the nation's deficit.

"I believe in helping our small businesses create jobs, but this bill doesn't guarantee that businesses will hire any additional employees or that any new employees will keep their jobs over the long term," Manchin said in a statement. "Worse still, not one cent of that short-term gimmick is paid for. Unfortunately, even the worthwhile provisions in the bill aren't paid for, so I will work with my colleagues to find a way to fund them without going into more debt."

According to information from Manchin's office, there are no budget offsets to pay for the tax cuts, which are expected to cost billions of dollars. Language in the bill provides tax credits for businesses to hire new employees, but many businesses have already hired new employees this year. In addition, the bill includes no requirement to retain employees for any length of time.

The bill has been returned to the Senate calendar.