Raleigh, NC (AP) -- The money owed to Washington for unemployment is bigger than the state budget deficit here.
Most of the attention in this year's General Assembly session has been on a $2.4 billion budget gap for state government that must be filled.
But there's a larger financial hole North Carolina lawmakers are starting to grapple with -- $2.6 billion owed to the federal government for unemployment benefits for people who've lost work. North Carolina is one of 30 states that are a combined $42 billion in the red on unemployment.
Republican leaders vow they won't close the budget gap with new or temporary taxes. But they've indicated some form of higher unemployment taxes for employers is likely sometime ahead to help reduce the debt.
Small business owners oppose a higher tax, saying it would discourage businesses from creating jobs.