Posted by Katie Vlietstra -Legislation extending the payroll tax deduction in February included changes to the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) voluntary program that allows states to pay a self-employment allowance to unemployed individuals who are in the process of establishing businesses and realizing the dream of self-employment.
The NASE has previously expressed desire to see these types of programs extended and embraced by all 50 states; currently only Delaware, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington have adopted SEA programs.
The changes in SEA include making available federal financed unemployment benefits to the program, additionally, the bill directs the Department of Labor and Small Business Administration to provide technical assistance to states that are interested in establishing the program. Perhaps the biggest incentive for states is the inclusion of $35 million dollars to help states administer the SEA program. Previously the state absorbed the costs of developing and maintaining the program.
We hope that states will embrace the SEA program and use the new funding streams to quickly implement a program that will translate into “real” opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to launch their businesses and become engines of economic growth.
You can learn more about the program by visiting the Department of Labor website here.