NFIB members asked to lobby their legislators against raising the unemployment insurance tax
NFIB/Alaska State Director Denny DeWitt is calling on Alaska small-business owners to make their opposition to House Bill 142 known with legislators prior to the measure’s February 2 hearing.
The legislation would increase the maximum unemployment compensation weekly benefit amount from $370 to $510 effective January 1, 2019, and it would set forth criteria to follow for Consumer Price Index increases in future years.
In a letter to the bill’s author, Rep. Chris Tuck, DeWitt wrote that equally troubling to the UI tax increase is Section 2 of the proposal, which “cedes any future increases to a regulatory formula rather than being considered by the Legislature. Allowing programs to grow without legislative review is poor public policy.”
Should it pass, an employer in the average tax class would pay an additional $58 per employee earning the full Taxable Wage Base in 2019 (approximately $40,000), and $84 per employee in 2020. The estimated cost increases gradually to an additional $235 in 2022 over the baseline forecast had there been no increase in MWBA. The estimated additional cost to employees earning the full Taxable Wage Base in 2022 will be $30 over the baseline forecast.
NFIB members are asked to call the House Finance Committee at 1-844-586-9085 and send an email to Rep. Neal Foster, co-chairman of the committee, at [email protected].
The hearing is scheduled for 1:30 this Friday, February 2, in the House Finance Committee.
