Metro

Feds up tax on local biz

Uncle Sam is ringing in the new year by socking businesses in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with higher taxes.

Tri-state-area employers — along with those in17 other states — are being hit with an additional charge of $21 per employee because the states have not paid back billions in federal loans.

The states are now getting hit because they had to borrow massive amounts from the feds during the Great Recession to cover the overwhelming amounts of unemployment insurance that were needed to pay jobless benefits.

New York state owes Washington $3 billion. New Jersey owes $1.2 billion, and Connecticut is on the hook for $809 million.

The surcharge on employers is assessed by each state’s Labor Department Unemployment Insurance Division to repay the loans. And the Labor Department warns that it could take legal action against deadbeats to collect the debt.

“The federal government plans to credit less than in previous years to employers,” said New York state Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales.

Experts said most business owners have no idea that the feds are about to reach back into their pockets.

“Most people aren’t paying attention,” said Mark Jaffe, president of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce. “In February, everybody will get a notice and it will probably be labeled as just another ‘surcharge.’ ”