NFIB is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign Senate Bill 50, legislation that addresses the state unemployment trust fund and a tax on business rentals. Under SB 50, their unemployment insurance tax rates will return to pre-COVID-19 levels, and rent tax would be reduced to 2% once the trust fund is sound.
In a letter to the governor, NFIB State Executive Director Bill Herrle said: “The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented hardships on small business owners through a significant downturn in the economy due to government-mandated shutdowns. As a result of these activities, many small businesses were forced to lay off workers to save their businesses from permanently shutting down.”
As a result, Herrle said, “Some business owners are seeing a doubling or tripling of their unemployment compensation taxes with some seeing even higher taxes. By replenishing this trust fund, using the monies contained in Senate Bill 50, this bill would nearly completely offset these new tax hikes.”
Herrle added that SB 50 would also result in a reduction of the business rent tax from 5.5% to 2%. “This would represent a major step forward in our mission to eliminate this tax,” he said.
“I urge you to sign Senate Bill 50 at your earliest convenience,” Herrle said.
Here is the complete text of Herrle‘s letter to Governor Desantis:
Governor DeSantis:On behalf of the nearly 10,000 NFIB members small business owners in Florida, I urge you to deliver tax relief in the form of Senate Bill 50 to small businesses. Senate Bill 50 contains a $1 billion per year tax offset to business owners’ unemployment compensation taxes and provides a 63% reduction in the business rent tax beginning no later than 2026.The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented hardships on small business owners through a significant downturn in the economy due to government-mandated shutdowns. As a result of these activities, many small businesses were forced to lay off workers to save their businesses from permanently shutting down. These layoffs led to a massive increase in drawdowns from the unemployment trust fund automatically triggering a tax hike on employers across Florida. Some business owners are seeing a doubling or tripling of their unemployment compensation taxes with some seeing even higher taxes. By replenishing this trust fund, using the monies contained in Senate Bill 50, this bill would nearly completely offset these new tax hikes.As you are aware, NFIB has also long championed the repealing of the business rent tax, a tax that Florida has the distinction of being the only state that charges. This bill would take a large chunk out of that tax rate by reducing it from 5.5% to 2%. This would represent a major step forward in our mission to eliminate this tax.The bill also contains Florida’s response to the Wayfair decision from the U.S. Supreme Court which would place Florida in line with 48 other states to begin collecting sales tax on online transactions from out-of-state companies. NFIB is neutral on this provision of the bill but the tax cuts in the bill make this bill something we support overall.In closing, the benefits more than outweigh any perceived drawbacks in this bill. I urge you to sign Senate Bill 50 at your earliest convenience. If I can answer any questions for you or your staff, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
