Most of us work for small businesses and new job creation is in the small business sector and there is no doubt we have a budget challenge. The liberals would say, raise taxes to get more revenue, but in an economy like this, you won't get more revenue from taxes or their evil twin, fees. Rep. Tom Graves, 9th District Congressional Candidate, and Sen. Chip Rogers, Majority leader in the State Senate, and other GOP leaders in the House and Senate gathered Thursday to unveil a wide-ranging package of tax cuts and credits that wil spur job creation in Georgia, where unemployment stands at 10.3 percent.

"We want to reward success. We want to reward investment," state Rep. Tom Graves, the sponsor of the two bills, said.

Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed this initiative last year and according to Sen. Rogers had legitimate concerns. The lawmakers went back to the drawing board and came up with the "2.0" version of the JOBS bill in Georgia. 

The Republican lawmakers' plan would give employers a $2,400 tax credit for hiring someone who has been unemployed for at least four weeks. It would give companies a quarterly tax credit for each eligible employee hired who had been receiving unemployment benefits.

It would also cut the state capital gains tax in half but only if the state's rainy day reserve fund held at least $500 million. State officials say the recession-wracked reserve fund currently has a little more than $100 million.

"You can't collect taxes from someone who's not employed," Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, said.

Alan Essig, executive director of the nonpartisan Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said the tax measures would rip a huge hole in the state budget at a time when it can't afford such a hit. I strongly disagree with Alan, we have to encourage business.  Here's the more of what the bill includes:

.- Allow Georgians to start a new business with no state fees for one year.

-- Provide an income tax credit of up to 50 percent of an investment made in a small or startup business with 20 or fewer employees.

-- Gradually phase out the sales tax deposit on small businesses.