If there is any good news for local small business owners frustrated with having to pay an additional $21 per employee in unemployment taxes last month, it’s that state Senate and House leaders, the Governor’s office and the business community are all reportedly working towards a way for the state of Georgia to pay back money borrowed from the federal government—An loan the state says was necessary, after extended unemployment benefits resulted in the drain of the state’s trust fund.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler says the additional tax goes directly to the principal on the state’s loan. He admits that at this time, the state has little control over the issue.
 
“We are trying to fight for making changes to the system in order to get out from under the Fed’s thumb,” he says. “As soon as we pay them back all those increases go away. But if you don’t do anything, those increases go up every year.”
 
-- For discussion sake: Washington D.C. based “think tank”, the Tax Foundation suggests there are many questions to consider when addressing unemployment insurance changes. Among them, how long should benefits be offered? Should jobless workers be required to take jobs below their education and skill level? Should the long-term unemployed be treated separately? At what point should a single employer's costs be socialized and borne by all employers?