Holzapfel, McGuckin and Catalano: Businesses Take Another Hit from Murphy as Payroll Tax Increases to Fund Unemployment

Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano are speaking out against Governor Murphy’s plan to replenish the unemployment insurance fund with a $250 million payroll tax hike on employers. The 10th District Legislators are criticizing the Governor for continuing to hurt businesses in the state.

“We are in this mess because of the Governor’s executive orders which delayed the reopening of many businesses and forced hundreds of thousands of pandemic unemployment claims to be filed,” Senator Holzapfel stated. “Our caucus urged Governor Murphy to divert $6.2 billion in federal American Rescue Plan aid to offset the unemployment payouts, however, our requests were ignored and now our business owners are stuck with the bill.”

On Aug. 13, the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development posted a notice online that employers will have to begin paying a higher payroll tax rate to fund the depleted unemployment insurance program. According to the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, that tax hike kicks in on Oct. 1.

“This is yet another devastating blow to our business owners who have shut down for months on end, struggled to find staff to fill positions and now they’re being forced to pay another tax,” said Assemblyman McGuckin. “There’s no doubt that this tax increase will have a ripple effect for years to come and we’ll see many more businesses either leave the state or close their doors forever.”

“Once again, Governor Murphy is doing his best to drive businesses out of New Jersey and saddle employers with another ridiculous tax increase to pay off massive unemployment debts,” Assemblyman Catalano added. “The Governor needs to take a hard look at how other states have successfully used their federal relief money to replenish their state’s unemployment insurance program without hurting employers.”