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Ill. firms in high-unemployment areas may see workers comp cost relief

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Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow employers to offset a portion of their state income taxes by deducting workers compensation costs in areas of high unemployment.

H.B. 6013 was introduced March 11 by state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, according to the Illinois Legislature website. The bill, which would take effect in January 2015, would allow employers to deduct workers comp costs for employees located in Illinois counties with high unemployment rates.

The qualifying rate is defined as being at least 2 percentage points higher than the average state employment rate during a taxable year.

The bill is intended to create jobs in “struggling communities,” including Macon County in his own district, Rep. Mitchell said Friday in a statement.

Illinois had the fourth-highest workers comp rates in the nation in 2012, according to the most recent biennial study by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.