Carson City - Nevada businesses are facing a possible doubling of the unemployment tax they pay the state to keep benefits flowing to laid-off workers.
The tax increase on employers would help Nevada avoid paying a hefty interest rate on a $1 billion loan the state plans to ask from Washington to fund the unemployment benefits pool, which is being drained in the recession because of record unemployment in Nevada.
The alternative: keep the unemployment tax rate low because businesses are struggling in the recession, hope the economy turns around and fewer people look for unemployment benefits, and pay the federal loan back with interest when the state can better afford it.
Last year, Las Vegas gaming revenue fell to 2005 levels. No industry wants to go backward. But considering the stock market has plunged to 1997 levels and homes may take decades to return to their peak values of a couple of years ago, three years of gaming growth seems like a small hit in this economy.
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