Fla. unemployment tax to skyrocket

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Unemployment compensation taxes paid by Florida businesses will skyrocket next year due to the state's high jobless rate - 11 percent in September.

The minimum tax will jump from $8.40 per employee to $100.30 - an almost 12-fold increase - in 2010, state Department of Revenue officials said Wednesday.

The maximum will go up from $378 per employee to $459.

Another factor contributing to the increases is that taxable wages are going up from $7,000 to $8,500 per employee.

The increases are needed to replenish the state's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund. It dropped from more than $1.3 billion last year to zero in August. Florida then began borrowing $300 million a month from the federal government to pay benefits.