There is a little known tax credit called the "Work Opportunity Credit." A business can claim a credit equal to 40% of the first $6000 of wages paid to employees of certain targeted groups. The two new targeted groups that have been added are unemployed veterans and disconnected youth.

What the heck is a "disconnected youth" ? Well, to be considered "disconnected" they need to be between the ages of 16 and 25 and have not been regularly employed or in school for the past six months. To qualify as an unemployed veteran they need to have been collecting unemployment compensation for more than four weeks during the year hired and must have been discharged or released from active duty during the five year period prior to hiring.

This credit is effective for hires made between December 31, 2008 and January 1, 2011. It has not been well publicized and many business owners are unaware of this benefit.

(This article contains the current opinions of the author but not necessarily those of Brighton Securities Corp. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. This blog post is for informational purposes only. Forecasts, estimates, and certain information contained herein should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. References to specific securities and their issuers are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended and should not be interpreted as recommendations to purchase or sell such securities).