High unemployment depletes fund

Business owners in Florida are about to get hit with a big tax hike: starting January 1st, all Florida businesses will have to pay skyrocketing unemployment compensation taxes to replenish the unemployment compensation trust fund.

Some employers will see increases equaling 12 times what they're paying now.

"Florida pays its unemployment benefits through its unemployment compensation trust fund and that trust fund, because of high unemployment rates recently, has been depleted," said The Florida Department of Revenue's Robert Babin.

The unemployment rate in Florida is a staggering 11 percent.

The tax increase is so much that many small business owners fear they could be put out of business completely. Jack Joyner, owner of Jack Joyner Heating and Air Conditioning in Clearwater, says his business will make it, but he's concerned.

"I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. My banker can't tell us what they believe is going to happen tomorrow," said Joyner, who been in the business 54 years.

In this economy, small business owners like 68-year-old Joyner hope day to day to survive.

Joyner has laid off 16 employees.

"The amount of work is not there," he explained.

With the tax hike, the minimum tax will jump from $8 an employee to $100. The maximum will climb from $378 a worker to $459.

"It's going to hit the small businesses quite heavily, when they're increasing our unemployment 70 percent. Where's that money going to come from?" wondered Joyner, who says he feels helpless.

Joyner says this can't keep happening to small businesses, which he considers the backbone of our economy.

"I will have to raise prices. Cost of putting air conditioning in. Cost of service will all go up," he said.

He thinks there are few solutions.

"It's unfair in one way, but how will we take care of our people in another way?"

More than 30 other states also plan to raise unemployment compensation taxes.