§ 28-43-7. Taxable wage base. (a) The taxable wage base under this chapter for the tax year beginning January 1, 1999, and ending with the tax year 2011 shall be:

(1) Twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) if the amount of the employment security fund, not including any federal disbursements made to the states pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1103, is more than two hundred twenty-five million dollars ($225,000,000);

(2) Fourteen thousand dollars ($14,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is more than one hundred seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000) but less than or equal to two hundred twenty-five million dollars ($225,000,000);

(3) Sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is more than one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000) but less than or equal to one hundred seventy-five million dollars ($175,000,000);

(4) Eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) if the amount of the employment security fund is less or equal to than one hundred twenty-five million dollars ($125,000,000) but more than seventy-five million dollars ($75,000,000); or

(5) Nineteen thousand dollars ($19,000) if the amount of the employment security is less than or equal to seventy-five million ($75,000,000).

(b) The taxable wage base under this chapter for the tax year beginning January 1, 2012, and all subsequent tax years, shall be equal to forty-six and one-half percent (46.5%) of the average annual wage in covered employment during the calendar year immediately preceding the computation date for the effective tax year; the computed figure shall be rounded upward to the next higher even multiple of two hundred dollars ($200). That taxable wage base shall be computed as follows: On September 30, 2011, and each September 30 thereafter, the total annual wages paid to individuals in covered employment for the preceding calendar year by all employers who are required to pay contributions under the provisions of chapters 42 - 44 of this title, shall be divided by the monthly average number of individuals in covered employment during the preceding calendar year, and the quotient shall be multiplied by four hundred sixty-five thousandths (.465). If the result thus obtained is not an even multiple of two hundred dollars ($200), it shall be rounded upward to the next higher even multiple of two hundred dollars ($200). That taxable wage base shall be effective for the tax year immediately following the computation date.

(c) Notwithstanding the above, the taxable wage base for employers with reserve account percentages of negative twenty-four (-24.00) or less for the tax years beginning January 1, 2012, and thereafter, shall be one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) above the taxable wage base computed for all other employers under subsection (b) of this section.

History of Section. (P.L. 1979, ch. 108, § 6; P.L. 1998, ch. 369, § 2; P.L. 1998, ch. 401, § 2; P.L. 2003, ch. 108, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 109, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 151, art. 4, § 1.)