[Oregon] Employers could face higher unemployment taxes in 2021

On November 13, the day Oregon Governor Kate Brown renewed restrictions on businesses across the state, employers discovered that they could potentially face higher payroll taxes in 2021. The Oregon Employment Department confirmed that the state will bump employers into a higher unemployment tax schedule in 2021. The agency described the shift as “modest.” Under what is called “tax schedule four,” the agency said employers will pay an average rate of 2.26 per cent on the first $43,800 paid to each employee. (Links via original reporting)

The change is reportedly intended to bolster the pool of money used to pay regular unemployment benefits to laid-off workers. Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have sought those benefits during the COVID-19 crisis. Employers pay into the fund - known as the unemployment insurance trust fund - and as the fund is drawn down to pay people who have lost their jobs, the move to a higher tax schedule helps replenish it. The state moves employers through eight tax schedules, hoping to build up sufficient reserves during good times to withstand the bad. OPB has further details of the story.

On November 13, the day Oregon Governor Kate Brown renewed restrictions on businesses across the state, employers discovered that they could potentially face higher payroll taxes in 2021. The Oregon Employment Department confirmed that the state will bump employers into a higher unemployment tax schedule in 2021. The agency described the shift as “modest.” Under what is called “tax schedule four,” the agency said employers will pay an average rate of 2.26 per cent on the first $43,800 paid to each employee. (Links via original reporting)

The change is reportedly intended to bolster the pool of money used to pay regular unemployment benefits to laid-off workers. Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians have sought those benefits during the COVID-19 crisis. Employers pay into the fund - known as the unemployment insurance trust fund - and as the fund is drawn down to pay people who have lost their jobs, the move to a higher tax schedule helps replenish it. The state moves employers through eight tax schedules, hoping to build up sufficient reserves during good times to withstand the bad. OPB has further details of the story.