At least of unemployment insurance debt owed the federal government.
In a press release sent out just moments ago, Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary of Employment Security Dale Folwell and Gov. McCrory made the announcement:
Governor Pat McCrory announced today North Carolina has paid off the unemployment insurance debt owed to the federal government. That debt was as high as $2.8 billion and stood at $2.5 billion when Governor McCrory took office in January 2013. …
The debt was incurred when the state’s unemployment trust fund ran out of funds in February 2009. North Carolina had to borrow from the federal government to pay for regular unemployment benefits and racked up the debt…..
“Had the debt not been paid by November 2015, employers in this state would have been subjected to an additional $282 million in additional FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax Act) penalties,” Folwell said. “These monies can now be used by the employer community to assist with the expansion of their business and workforce.”
The early payback of the debt was hastened in no small part thanks to unemployment insurance reforms passed last year. Ridding the state of this debt lifts a significant tax burden off of the shoulders of employers, freeing them up to create more jobs.
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