Massachusetts businesses push back against ballooning unemployment taxes following COVID-related claims
Updated 6:15 PM;
A growing number of Massachusetts business owners who took solace in the passage of a bill promoting an unemployment tax rate freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic are sounding the alarm after seeing massive increases in their employee contribution rate on their state tax notices.
The Retailers Association of Massachusetts circulated a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and lawmakers urging them to find a fix to close a $4 billion-plus deficit the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund faces by the end of the year. RAM President Jon Hurst, Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz and 17 chamber leaders signed onto the letter.