Senate Votes Unanimously To Repeal 3 Percent Withholding Tax

The voices of the Senate rang in harmony Thursday as the legislative body unanimously voted to repeal a law that would require government agencies to collect a 3 percent tax on payments made to individual contractors.

The 95-0 vote sends the bill to the House for final approval. President Obama has already said he would sign the repeal into law after a similar version passed the House in October. 

The House must reconsider a Senate version that includes tax incentives for businesses who hire unemployed veterans. The Vow to Hire Heroes Act is the first of three pieces of Obama’s jobs package to garner bipartisan support in the upper chamber.  

Under the act, companies that hire veterans who have been out of work for more than 4 weeks but less than 6 months would be eligible for a $2,400tax credit. A tax credit of $5,600 would be allocated to companies who hire veterans who have been looking for work for more than 6 months and would double if the potential employee suffers from service-related disabilities.  

The rare portrayal of bipartisanship is a victory for both Republicans and Democrats as they have struggled to see eye to eye on a number of issues. 

“It was not politics as usual,” said House Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). “As more and more of our servicemen and women come home, we need to ensure that they receive the homecoming they deserve, not an unemployment check.” 

President Obama released a statement applauding the upper chamber’s approval of the law and urged the House to act expeditiously in approval of the bill in the coming days.

“No veteran who fought for our nation should have to fight for a job when they come home, and I urge the House to pass these tax credits as well so I can sign them into law,” Obama said in a statement. “I also urge Congress to pass additional jobs proposals in the weeks ahead to help the millions of other Americans who are still looking for work.”