In 2010 South Carolina Legislature increased SUTA taxes for of SC business owners.
Thanks to the efforts of the SC Staffing Association and pro-business legislators, several unemployment insurance reforms were enacted in 2011, as well as $146M of for SUTA relief to help pay down South Carolina’s $933M in federal SUTA debt, which reduced some of the adverse impacts of the 2011 SUTA tax increases. This allowed businesses to continue hiring more workers and invest more capital.
Unfortunately, the $146M of relief in 2011 was only a one-time payment. And, the SC Department of Employment & Workforce is in need of additional reforms. Both of these issues have brought about higher 2012 SUTA taxes – that is,unless we help do something about it.
The House has appropriated $77M towards SUTA relief in 2012. We need your help to get the Senate to raise that amount up higher so that South Carolina businesses can use that relief to continue to hire and invest capital.
We urge you to call the following Senate Finance Committee members to tell them we need more relief toward SUTA and now is NOT the time to increase taxes for SC employers.
Remember, when calling these senators, they are our friends and champions – they have championed our SUTA relief in the past. So, we need you to be encouraging to them, not hostile. They are our supporters and need them to obtain more SUTA relief.
When calling, simply say:
“Hi Senator, this is ________ and I work at _______, which employs ______ number of people. We are located in ____________, South Carolina. Our associates are located in ________ counties of South Carolina.
First, we thank you for your support in the past to champion SUTA relief.
I called because we need additional SUTA relief in 2012 – The current SUTA rates which are higher than they were in 2011 hurt our ability to create jobs and capital investment. The House appropriated $77M toward relief this year. Unfortunately, that amount will still mean our SUTA taxes in 2012 will still be higher than they were in 2011. I know you were very instrumental in bringing about $146M of relief last year and we need you to do the same in 2012. Now is not the time to increase taxes on businesses just as we are seeing the unemployment rates drop. We hope you will address this in Senate Finance Committee.
The SC Department of Employment and Workforce paid out over $130 million in benefits last year to individuals who were fired for cause or to individuals who were gaming the system. This represents over 20% of our SUTA rate.
This is the single best thing you can do for JOB CREATION! Thank you for your continued support for SUTA relief.”
Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman, Chairman 803-212-6640 Florence
Sen. Harvey Peeler, Senator Majority Leader 803-212-6430 Gaffney
Sen. David Thomas 803-212-6240 Greenville
Sen. John Courson, President of the Senate 803-212-6250 Richland
Sen. Thomas Alexander 803-212-6220 Oconee
Sen. Glenn Reese 803-212-6108 Spartanburg
Sen. Wes Hayes 803-212-6410 York
Sen. Mike Fair 803-212-6420 Greenville
Sen. Danny Verdin 803-212-6230 Laurens
Sen. Kevin Bryant 803-212-6024 Anderson
Sen. Nikki Setzler 803- 212-6140 Lexington
** This information was provided by Ed Parris, Chair, Legislative Committee of the Greenville Society for Human Resources Management Chapter.
