Income tax: credits: full-time employees: hires.

The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law authorize various credits against the taxes imposed by those laws, including a credit for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, in the amount of $3,000 for each full-time employee hired by a qualified employer, with a maximum cumulative credit of $400,000,000 for all taxable years. Those laws define "qualified employer" as a taxpayer that employed 20 or fewer employees as of the last day of the preceding taxable year. This bill would, under both laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2012, redefine "qualified employer" to mean a disabled veteran business enterprise, a disadvantaged business enterprise, a microbusiness, or a small business, respectively, as defined, redefine "qualified full-time employee," as provided, and increase the amount of credit allowed for each qualified full-time employee to either $4,500 or $9,100, as provided. This bill would result in a change in state taxes for the purpose of increasing state revenues within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.