Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that Florida businesses will continue to pay the lowest possible rate for reemployment taxes next year because of Florida’s growing economy and strong private-sector job growth rate.
The minimum tax rate will remain at $7 per employee in 2017. The $7 per employee minimum tax rate for 2017 is down from a high of $120.80 per employee in 2012. In just five years, Florida businesses have had their reemployment tax reduced by more than 94 percent, resulting in a savings of more than $3.5 billion.
Said the governor in a prepared statement, “I’m proud to announce that Florida businesses will continue to pay the lowest possible rate for reemployment taxes next year, because our economy has continued to grow and more private sector jobs have been created. Our efforts to make Florida the most business-friendly state in the nation has helped keep the cost of doing business low and created more than 1.2 million jobs in the last six years. We will continue to work each day to make Florida more competitive so our state can become the No. 1 place for job creators and families to succeed.”
Florida businesses pay the reemployment tax as a percentage of the first $7,000 in wages for each employee. Reemployment taxes, or taxes on payroll, fund Florida’s Reemployment Assistance Trust Fund. During the recession, more Floridians sought Reemployment Assistance, emptying the trust fund and causing it to become insolvent in 2009, which resulted in rising payroll taxes. Over the past five years, Florida’s growing economy and private sector job growth rate has allowed the state to dramatically reduce the minimum reemployment tax rate. Additionally, the Reemployment Assistance Trust Fund has since grown to more than $3.2 billion.
Department of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Cissy Proctor said, “Florida is consistently a leader in job growth, and our efforts to get Floridians back to work are allowing us to pass savings along to businesses. As we work to keep taxes low for Florida businesses, we are helping to encourage more job creation so that all Floridians have the opportunity to get a good job and provide for their families.”
Click here to learn more about the Reemployment Assistance tax rate.
