Nevada businesses facing a 50 percent tax hike
Nevada's unemployment tax is about to double.
Happy New Year, Nevada employers.Nevada has already borrowed $526 million from the feds to supplement its unemployment insurance fund.
Starting Jan. 1, you will be hit with a 50 percent increase in the taxes you pay to provide unemployment benefits to workers, the state Employment Security Council decided Tuesday.
But that won't be the last of your increases.
As early as September, your unemployment taxes are expected to be boosted again to help the state pay back another $300 million it will borrow from the federal government.
The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has pointed out that increasing the tax rate will force some businesses to lay off employees. The Chamber is certainly right that increasing the tax rate will cause some individuals to lose their jobs, but there really isn't another immediate alternative here.
The real lesson is that that Nevada's legislators should think twice before raising taxes - again - on businesses, because taxes can't simply be passed on to businesses. Tax increases on businesses will negatively impact employees and consumers.
