Bipartisan legislation to save EDGE tax credits for Illinois employers

Expiration of the state’s EDGE tax credit at the end of last year has many lawmakers and employers calling for swift action to reinstate the program, which has created 34,000 jobs and retained an additional 46,000 in Illinois since the program was created in 1999.

Bipartisan legislation has been filed (SB 3459) to create the Transforming, Helping, and Reviving Illinois’ Versatile Economy (THRIVE) Job Creation Tax Credit Act, which would revive key components of, and improve upon, the state’s EDGE tax credit program.

Under the legislation, companies would receive credit for 50 percent of the Illinois withholding attributable to create jobs. The credit would offset the corporate income tax for that year.

Furthermore, companies must create 10 percent of the current global workforce or 50 new jobs, whichever is less. They must also have a capital investment of $2.5 million at the project location in the state unless the company employs less than 100 employees.

Proponents of the legislation stress that the state’s economy relies on its ability to create and maintain jobs. The incentives secured by the EDGE tax created provides employers with a reason to stay in Illinois, which is particularly important at a time when jobs are leaving the state in record numbers, moving across state lines to Indiana and Wisconsin, or when Illinois is trying to attract national and global businesses seeking to lay down roots in the Midwest.

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