ALBANY (March 2, 2022) – As the New York State Assembly and Senate prepare one-house budget bills and leaders negotiate a final budget package, 51 organizations representing employers from across the state in every sector and industry are urging lawmakers to allocate $2-3 billion to help restore the Unemployment Insurance system and lower crushing taxes on businesses. New York State’s UI Trust Fund is more than $9 billion in debt that must be repaid to the federal government with interest. The letter urges New York State to apply federal pandemic relief aid to help stabilize its UI Trust Fund and/or address outstanding debt, as 32 other states have already done.
“As long as the state remains in debt, businesses will continue to pay the highest-possible state UI tax rates with increased federal tax rates and special assessments in the coming months,” according to Ashley Ranslow, NFIB’s New York State Director. “Businesses have fought through endless challenges due to the pandemic and are urgently striving for economic recovery. This recovery is impeded by enormous UI tax bills that will continue for more than a decade if New York State chooses not to act. Historic UI claims and costs are a direct result of state mandates, restrictions, and shutdowns during the pandemic. Burdening small businesses with the entirety of these costs cannot be the solution. The State must allocate money to UI in this year’s budget.”
The full letter is available here.
NFIB IN THE NEWS:
“For businesses, the bill is coming due for the pandemic surge in unemployment benefits,” (The Buffalo News, 2/24/22).
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For more than 75 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.
