In addition to the governor, Thompson thanked Sen. Phil Berger,
Speaker Tim Moore, Rep. Julia Howard and Sen. Bob Rucho for taking the lead on
the legislation that allowed the state to repay the loan months ahead of a November
2015 deadline.
“Repaying the debt is a big relief to small-business owners, because it means there’s one less thing hanging over their heads,” Thompson said.
“When the state borrowed the money six years ago, small businesses were worried, because there was a chance that unemployment insurance premiums would skyrocket or that the Legislature would pass a tax increase in order to repay the money, but neither of those things,” Thompson said. If the debt hadn’t been repaid by November 2015, North Carolina employers would have been subject to $282 million in Federal Unemployment Act penalties.
“Our members appreciate just how hard Governor McCrory and legislative leaders worked to beat the deadline so small businesses wouldn’t be subject to those FUTA penalties,” Thompson said.
“This is the kind of fiscally responsible action our members expect from the McCrory administration,” Thompson said. “Repaying this $2.8 billion debt now is going to make it easier for small businesses to plan ahead and, we hope, grow and create jobs.”
NFIB/North Carolina’s is the state’s leading small-business association with 8,000 dues-paying members representing a cross section of the state’s economy. Learn more at www.NFIB.com/NC or follow @NFIB_NC on Twitter.