Missouri employers will retain federal tax credits

SBJ Staff

Posted online December 10, 2006 | 11:00 pm

The State of Missouri has received final approval of Gov. Matt Blunt’s request to avoid $102.8 million in cuts to the state’s Federal Unemployment Tax Act credits given to small-business owners and employers.

The U.S. Department of Labor approved the request after the state paid the federal government the amount of FUTA credits Missouri employers would have had to pay – $102.8 million – on Oct. 31. The state received conditional approval in September.

Blunt made the request to help manage a $288 million debt that began in 2003 when the Missouri Division of Employment Security began borrowing money from the federal government to pay for unemployment insurance benefits. Because of that debt, the state had been in danger of losing its FUTA credits.

Avoiding the tax-credit reduction will save Missouri employers about $42 per employee, according to a news release from Blunt’s office.

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