ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Independent Business Federation scored a lobbying victory with the Legislature’s decision to replenish the state unemployment benefits fund with $2.7 billion. The fund was running dry because consumer spending plummeted during the CoVid pandemic and businesses trimmed payrolls drastically. Meanwhile, claims for state unemployment insurance, funded by payroll taxes, swelled. That had left small business owners facing a stiff post-pandemic hike in payroll taxes to replenish the fund. John Reynolds, lobbying chief for the Independent Business Federation, called the new state package “a huge win for small business owners across Minnesota.” The federation has 10,000 members.
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Reynolds: “The Unemployment Insurance repayment deal stops higher payroll taxes this year and avoids a decade or more of higher unemployment insurance taxes. Main Street businesses who are facing mounting economic headwinds will start saving money almost immediately.”