Quinn signs tax credit hike for firms hiring vets

By Jayette Bolinski

SPRINGFIELD — A tax-credit incentive is available for Illinois employers who hire veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Gov. Pat Quinn, a longtime advocate for veterans, on Monday signed off on Senate Bill 3241, which raises the state’s Hiring Veterans tax credit from 10 percent to 20 percent of annual wages. The bill also increases the annual cap on the credit from $1,200 to $5,000.

“Veterans are committed, disciplined and experienced, and they know how to accomplish a mission,” Quinn said. “We need these heroes in our workplaces, and increasing the Hiring Veterans tax credit will create more jobs for veterans and grow the economy in Illinois.”

Employers are eligible who hire veterans who served after Sept. 11, 2001, and work at least 185 days a year.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, and state Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, also makes families of deceased veterans eligible in some communities for the same property tax relief available for families of deceased firefighters and police officers.

To find out more about veterans benefits in Illinois, visit veterans.illinois.gov or call the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs at 312-814-2460.