Virginia’s small business owners–like their colleagues nationwide–create about 70 percent of all new jobs in the state. But now they are struggling in the current economy. Some of these men and women have seen demand for goods and services decline. Others cannot obtain the needed credit to expand and diversify in order to stay competitive.
In such difficult times, we all want an environment that encourages employers to start putting people back to work. Unfortunately, the federal government has passed legislation that entices states to make the cost of doing business even greater.
The federal stimulus bill stipulates that in order to receive a portion of those temporary funds, state governments must permanently increase their unemployment payroll taxes. Will Virginia be lured into making changes that can damage employment long-term?