The new tax bill that has just been signed into law will help create jobs everywhere and will also improve hiring for jobs in Washington, D.C.

Iowa Congressman Tom Latham released the following statement after voting in favor of HR 4853, legislation to extend the current tax rates and fend off a major tax increase for all Americans beginning Jan. 1:

“The tax bill approved by the House of Representatives on Thursday makes sure that no American will face a tax hike on January 1. The economic condition of our country remains precarious, and allowing the current tax rates to expire and replacing them with a massive tax increase would be disastrous for families, employers and the national economy.

“This legislation lifts some of the uncertainty that is freezing our economy in place and dispels the doubt surrounding future tax liabilities for every American. It improves the ability of employers to plan ahead and start hiring again. Allowing the current tax rates to expire would bury middle-class families with a huge tax increase. This legislation, on the other hand, represents a critical step toward sustained job creation and a long-term economic recovery.” -30-

A new report is spotlighting the issue of reseting taxes in order to boost Washington, D.C. jobs.

A report released today by business organizations finds it makes good business sense to reset top tax rates to where they were between 1993 and 2000 during the longest economic expansion in US history. “Restoring Top Tax Rates Makes Sense for Small Business,” by Business for Shared Prosperity and the American Sustainable Business Council–representing over 200,000 companies, small business owners, investors and executives–finds:

•Job growth was much better with pre-2001 top bracket tax rates than current rates. The Bush administration created just 1.1 million jobs net, while the Clinton administration created 22.7 million. In the six years after Clinton’s 1993 tax increase, employment grew 16.2% compared to just 4.8% in the six years between Bush’s 2001 tax cut and the Great Recession.

•Everybody will still pay less income tax than in 2000, when there was a budget surplus. If the top rate tax cuts expire on schedule for couples with taxable income over $250,000 and individuals over $200,000, they will still keep tax cuts on the portion of their incomes below those thresholds if Congress extends the “middle-class tax cuts” applying to lower brackets.

•High-income households will actually get thousands of dollars more than middle-income households from the “middle-class tax cuts.”

•Less than 3% of tax filers with any business income make over $200,000 (individuals) or $250,000 (couples) a year, and that’s counting hedge fund investors, wealthy people renting vacation homes, big business board members and other non-small business owners.

“Letting high-end tax cuts expire is a good business decision. We can invest the money to generate more customers for small businesses by keeping teachers, police officers and other Americans working and rebuild the crumbling transportation and energy infrastructure businesses depend on,” says Frank Knapp, CEO and President, S. Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce.

•Small business hiring is driven by customer demand, not tax rates. In the words of small business owner Lew Prince, “I’ve been in business more than 30 years and my income tax rate doesn’t affect hiring. The cost of a new employee comes off my taxable income–like my other business expenses. Expecting high-end tax cuts to trickle down as job creation is about as reasonable as pouring gasoline on your hood and expecting it to fuel your engine.”

“It’s time to end, not extend, policies that created the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and build an economy that grows our small businesses and middle class rather than destroys them,” said Scott Klinger, co-author of the report for Business for Shared Prosperity and the American Sustainable Business Council.

Telecommunications giant AT&T has announced it will be hiring for sales jobs in Washington, D.C.
AT&T will host a job fair this week in Arlington, Va., aimed at filling more than 100 open positions throughout the D.C. metro area.

These positions, which include retail sales and sales management, are a result of the continued expansion of AT&T’s growing wireless segment. (more…)

Tech firms have been flocking to the DC area in droves, adding thousands of technical jobs in Washington, D.C. (click here).

According to statistics from industry advocate TechAmerica, the high-tech industry in Washington, Maryland and Virginia has added close to 100,000 jobs over the past decade.

Case in point is Composite Software, profiled in a recent article by the Washington Post.

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According to a forecast by Delta Associates, Washington, D.C. jobs are expected to grow within the next year, followed by increased growth in the next few years.

Washington, D.C. lost many jobs in 2009.

According to Washington Business Journal.com, the Washington area saw payroll employment decline by 29,200 jobs in the year ending January 2010, a 1 percent decline.

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Forbes has said in a recent article that Washington, D.C. is emerging from the recession better than any city in the U.S., citing evidence that jobs in Washington are growing quickly.

Washington, D.C. has been in the news for many reasons lately, after it was pummeled by two snow storms and as the location for the sparring match between Republicans and Democrats over healthcare. But there are other reasons the city has been spotlighted.

The city has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at 6.2%, and its output amounts to $362.3 billion, more than three times the average for the country’s largest cities.

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While many places throughout the country continue to lose workers and see their unemployment rate consistently increase, more Washington DC jobs were added last month.

During July, the District of Columbia saw its unemployment rate decrease from 10.9 percent to 10.6 percent. This is the first time the city’s unemployment rate has declined since March, but the lowered rate is still higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.4 percent.

D.C. had a total non-farm employment of 716,200 workers during July, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 703,000 jobs during June and a .9 percent increase from last year.

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City officials are doing their part to help save Washington DC government jobs by working to balance the upcoming budget, but not all positions will be spared.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty recently submitted his plan to close the projected $453 million budget gap this year and next year’s projected $150 million budget gap. During June, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer predicted the city could face additional budget deficits.

“My administration has taken action to address the District’s deficit, exploring all possible options,” Fenty said. “Our proposed plan not only balances the budget but also protects critical services for District residents.”

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As the District’s unemployment rate continued to increase, a dismal number of Washington, D.C. jobs were added during May.

The District of Columbia saw its unemployment rate climb from 9.9 percent to 10.7 percent during May, which is higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.4 percent.

However, the District did manage to add a few hundred jobs. The District had a total non-farm employment of 702,700 workers during May, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 702,400 workers during April, but a .3 percent decrease from last year.

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Construction has begun on a project that will eventually create thousands of D.C. office jobs.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and officials from Forest City Washington and the General Services Administration recently announced that work has begun on The Park at The Yards, a 5.4-acre public waterfront park that will overlook the Anacostia River. The Park is a major part of The Yards project, which will include the development a 42-acre urban neighborhood.

When completed, The Yards will accommodate about 2,700 new condos and apartments; 400,000-square-feet of restaurants and shops; 1.8 million-square-feet of office space and the preservation of unique historical buildings already on the site. The Yards is expected to house more than 4,700 new residents. The project also will create 7,700 new jobs, most of them office jobs, which will generate about $450 million in yearly salaries.

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