Hire ex-con in Philly, get $10K annual tax credit

PHILADELPHIA - One-time thief Heber Nixon Jr. has filled out his share of futile job applications. All said being a felon wouldn’t stand in his way — but the promised calls from managers never came.

He finally got a second chance when he showed up at a construction site looking for work and found a sympathetic builder.

Now, the city of Philadelphia is making a concerted effort to encourage the hiring of ex-convicts amid a renewed interest nationwide in dealing with high recidivism, growing crime rates and exploding prison populations.

Philadelphia averaged a murder a day the past two years and has been sued to reduce its overcrowded, record-high jail population.

So on his 100th day in office last month, Mayor Michael Nutter announced a program, being headed by an ex-offender, that gives $10,000 a year in municipal tax credits to companies that hire former prisoners and provide them tuition support or vocational training.

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Hire ex-con in Philly, get $10K annual tax credit
Yahoo News