NFIB in New York continues to be the voice of small business in Albany and has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about rising unemployment insurance (UI) costs for small businesses, including the recent Interest assessment Surcharges that are due this month. NFIB has long called on New York State’s leaders to use federal pandemic aid or surplus state tax revenues to pay off the state’s nearly $8 billion in UI debt – only this action will prevent future surcharges and will lower state UI tax rates.
As part of NFIB’s advocacy efforts, New York State Director Ashley Ranslow has been speaking with reporters across New York State about UI and the strain is putting on small businesses. In Albany’s Times Union, Ranslow stated “New York’s elected leaders had the opportunity to prevent these surcharges from hitting businesses mailboxes by using the billions of dollars in federal pandemic aid to pay down the state’s unemployment insurance debt and interest owed on the debt. Instead, the state skirted responsibility and is leaving hardworking small business owners to foot the bill.” The Times Union also quotes two NFIB members, Peter Elitzer of Peter Harris Clothing, and Tracy Snell of Snell Septic Service. Read more about the media’s coverage on this issue and NFIB’s comments in the following publications:
See NFIB in the Times Union: https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Business-large-and-small-decry-what-they-see-as-a-17382986.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-business-package#photo-22820441
See NFIB in Bloomberg Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/n-y-businesses-stuck-with-7-7-billion-covid-unemployment-debt
Listen to NFIB on WNYC’s Capitol Pressroom: https://www.wqxr.org/story/employers-forced-to-pay-new-yorks-unemployment-debts/