House passes tax credit to reimburse employers hit by unemployment‑rate freeze

The Oregon House on June 20 passed House Bill 22 71, which creates a tax credit for employers affected by an earlier policy that effectively froze unemployment insurance tax rates.

Representative Wright, sponsor of the bill, said some small employers were caught by a tax‑rate freeze enacted in 2021 that prevented rate decreases in certain circumstances. Under the law being enacted, an employer whose tax rate in 2025 is at least three percentage points lower than the employer’s tax rate for calendar year 2024 (the sponsor’s floor remarks characterized the relief in those terms) may receive a nonrefundable credit of up to $5,000 against unemployment taxes for 2025. Wright described the credit as helping roughly 1,100 businesses and said it would reimburse employers for overpayments triggered by the earlier policy.

Representative Reschke and other members commended the sponsor for pursuing a narrow, technical fix for a problem that affected a limited number of employers. There was no extended debate recorded in the excerpt. The bill passed the House by the required majority and was declared passed; it will move to the Senate for further action.

Sponsors said the measure is narrowly targeted to correct specific consequences from prior policy and to return funds to affected small employers.