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New Jersey Unemployment Insurance
Fund Gov. Corzine has said he is counting on money from the proposed
federal stimulus package to beef up the state's dwindling Unemployment
Insurance Trust Fund and avert a tax increase on employers. The
fund, the source of the state's unemployment insurance payments,
is widely expected to dip to a level that triggers a July payroll
tax increase on employers. The tax would have to raise either $375
million or $640 million, depending on how low the fund dips, according
to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Corzine said
he expects the federal government's proposed $850 billion federal
stimulus package to include money designated specially for state
unemployment funds, adding that he expects the federal money to
be sent under the condition that states "modernize" their unemployment
rules. Last year, the state transferred $260 million from the general
fund into the unemployment insurance fund to avert a tax increase
on employers. Corzine did not say whether the state would do that
again if federal stimulus money did not come through by March, which
is when it will be determined whether a tax increase is triggered.
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