Governor announces unemployment insurance taxes will not increase in 2022
The power of the small-business voice once again succeeded in getting heard—and getting results.
Silver State entrepreneurs caught a glimpse of a silver lining in an otherwise bleak economy when Gov. Steve Sisolak announced on November 10 that there would be no unemployment insurance (UI) tax increase for 2022.
When NFIB Nevada first heard that the Employment Security Division within the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) might consider raising UI taxes on employers to 2% from 1.65%, it teed up an Action Alert for its members to send to DETR registering their opposition and displeasure.
“The public comment process worked,” said ESD Administrator Lynda Parven in a news release issued by Governor Sisolak. “We are open to hearing from our constituents and adjusting as needed to ensure the success of all Nevadans.”
Hear from constituents they did and adjust they also did. In the above news release, Sisolak announced there would be no UI increase for 2022, a decision that will be finalized by ESD on December 18.
“I applaud our NFIB Nevada members for stepping up, speaking out, and getting results,” said Randi Thompson, NFIB’s Nevada state director. “Without them, I don’t know if it would have turned out so well. I also give the governor praise for not only his decision not to raise UI taxes but also for his earlier choice to use some of the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds earmarked for Nevada to pay off the state’s $300 million it owed the federal government for UI loans used to shore up the state’s trust fund and keep benefits going to those who needed them.
“Our bordering neighbors Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Utah have no outstanding UI debt with the feds, and by joining them in that, we can remain competitive. Pity California’s small-business owners, whose state owes a jaw-dropping $19.3 billion in UI loans, whose elected leaders have s not even discussed using any federal money to pay it down or off, and who are looking down the double barrels of astronomical tax increases.”
