A bill recently introduced in Congress would reward with a tax credit employers who hire active duty spouses.
The spouse employment issue is a long running, contentious topic. We know that getting a job can be very challenging in a tough economy where few seem to be hiring at all, much less hiring those who may be around a few years at best. A well publicized tax break for those who hire military spouses certainly could help on the employment front.
While DoD leaders and the White House are taking some steps to make it easier for spouses to get employment, such as a program to study and ease for spouses the task of transferring professional licenses between states, it would take an act of Congress to institute any sort of tax code.
The one proposed by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) currently has bipartisan support. But tax incentives are an uphill battle these days, and the bill is waiting consideration in a House committee, where it could easily die through inaction.
Stay tuned on this bill’s progress at Military.com’s Legislative Center. If this is something you support, you can also write a letter to your Representative asking for their support and vote for the bill (unless you live in the District of Columbia where residents have no voting representative in Congress).
