Brindisi: State Should End Charging Business Owners to Help Cover the Costs of Interest on Federal Loans

July 16, 2012

Utica – Assemblyman Anthony J. Brindisi (D-Utica) today called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to stop the State Labor Department’s practice of charging New York Business owners a fee to cover interest payments of over $100 Million dollars on federal loans to cover the cost of the state’s unemployment insurance program.

For the second year in a row, businesses are paying up to $12.75 per employee to help pay for the interest rate costs. The state has taken about $4 Billion in loans over the past three years to cover the increasing cost of providing unemployment insurance. Notices have started going to business owners from the State Labor Department this week.

“Small businesses face many challenges today during this time of economic uncertainty,” Brindisi said. “Requiring businesses to cover the cost of loans taken out by the state is onerous and simply unfair, and I would respectfully ask that you consider using money from the state’s general fund to help cover these costs, instead of reaching into the pockets of many small business owners with little advance notice.”

Brindisi also says it is unfair that businesses only have 30 days to pay the fee without penalty, and that there is no process to request a payment deadline extension.

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