The Peru Gazette

“In my conversations with local business owners across the North Country, one of the top concerns they share with me is an expected increase to the unemployment insurance tax rate. When many businesses were forced to close during the pandemic and an unprecedented number of workers were unemployed, the State borrowed money from the Unemployment Trust Fund. The state now owes $8.1 billion to the Unemployment Trust Fund that must be paid off immediately so that business owners are not burdened with this debt. All businesses would experience an increase to their unemployment insurance tax rate- even the businesses that did not lay off a single employee during the shutdown. The State Comptroller also issued a report in June that stated the importance of paying off this debt immediately. That is why I joined several of my colleagues last week urging the Governor to allocate revenues that have exceeded the projections for this fiscal year, including revenue from mobile sports wagering and sales tax. Business owners already have enough on their plate with inflation and the increased cost of fuel and it is time for the State to help local business owners after all their hard work and cooperation navigating state mandates the last few years.”