Florida Chamber: Thank Lawmakers for Drop in Unemployment Comp Rate

The Florida Chamber of Commerce released the following statement upon the pending decrease in the unemployment compensation tax rate:

Unemployment compensation rates are set to drop for many Florida businesses which is good news for Floridas job creators.

Thanks in part to Florida Chamber-backed legislation sponsored last session by new Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and new Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, the current re-employment minimum tax rate of $120.80 per employee will drop to $81.60 per employee on Jan. 1, 2013. Both President Gaetz and Speaker Weatherford were endorsed by the Florida Chamber in their recent elections and received A grades on the Florida Chambers Legislative Report Card in 2012.

The Florida Chamber worked closely with President Gaetz and Speaker Weatherford to avert a massive $817 million tax increase on Floridas business community during the 2012 legislative session and passing legislation that reduced the UC tax by nearly $40 per employee saving employers more than $500 million over two years!

While Florida, like many other states, has resorted to loans from the federal government to deal with higher unemployment, those loans will be paid off by May 2013 due to the solutions put forward by President Gaetz, Speaker Weatherford and other leaders in the Legislature who share the Florida Chambers commitment to free-market solutions.

This welcome UC news shows that Florida is on the right path and our leaders are putting the state on sound footing, taking a large step in securing Floridas future. More information can be found in the attached document.

Take action by contacting President Gaetz and Speaker Weatherford and thanking them for their work to reduce this massive tax burden on Floridas business community!