NFIB STATEMENT REGARDING COMMONWEALTH’S $2.5 BILLION UI ERROR

June 1, 2023 Last Edit: June 5, 2025

NFIB STATEMENT REGARDING COMMONWEALTH'S $2.5 BILLION UI ERROR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB State Director in Massachusetts, 508-243-7520 or Christopher.carlozzi@nfib.org BOSTON, MA (June 1, 2023) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today released the following statement attributable to Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB’s state director in Massachusetts, regarding the state over-withdrawing $2.5 billion in federal UI benefits during the pandemic: “This $2.5 billion error was made by the state, and it is reliant upon the state of Massachusetts to rectify this major oversight,” said Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB’s Massachusetts state director. “However, in no way should employers be held liable for a $2.5 billion mistake that was not their doing. If Massachusetts must repay the federal government, they should use remaining federal funds or excess tax revenue and not rely on business owners to shoulder the burden. That includes not raising UI taxes or depleting the existing UI Fund balance as small business owners are currently paying a hefty COVID-19 assessment on their UI bills to cover the cost of layoffs resulting from state-mandated shutdowns.”

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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

Topics:

Taxes

State:

Massachusetts

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