Arkansas House OKs cuts to unemployment benefits

[TexasTowelie]

LITTLE ROCK—The Arkansas House has approved cuts to the state's unemployment benefits as part of legislation that also reduces taxes on employers.

The House passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the length of unemployment benefits from 20 weeks to 16 starting in 2018, cutting those benefits by 13 percent, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Democrats and union members oppose the bill, saying it unfairly targets unemployed workers. Democratic House Minority Leader Michael John Gray said reducing benefits to 16 weeks is an unnecessary burden on working Arkansas residents compared to surrounding states.

The bill also proposes to reduce the taxes that businesses pay in the state's unemployment fund.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/feb/17/arkansas-house-oks-cuts-unemployment-benefits/661951/

[sinkingfeeling]

1. They also put state income tax on unemployment benefits in order

to exempt military pensions from income tax.