Governor Brian Kemp announced on Wednesday that as much as $1.5 billion in coronavirus relief funds from the CARES Act would be allocated to repay borrowing for the Georgia Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The goal is to prevent increases in state and federal unemployment taxes, as indicated by a media release from Governor Kemp’s office. By the year’s end, the Georgia Department of Labor estimates that the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund will have borrowed a total of $1.5 billion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on Georgia’s labor force.
Kemp asserts, “Today’s announcement will save Georgia employers millions of dollars in state and federal unemployment taxes, prevent significant layoffs and save the state millions of dollars in interest payments.”