GR Today
Government Relations Today is a monthly publication released by the PPAI Public Affairs team and covers political news, industry-related updates and product safety insight. GR Today is designed to keep members up-to-date with legislative developments.
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GR Today - CARE Act Issue
PPAI continues to closely monitor developments in Washington, D.C. PPAI’s government relations manager, Maurice Norris, D.C. based lobbyist and our legal counsel continue to study the recent U.S. legislation aimed at providing relief to businesses and individuals affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Look for further updates to follow in the days ahead. To keep up with these updates, please subscribe to GR Today here and follow this and related news at pubs.ppai.org.
H.R. 748, named the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, modifies elements of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to help businesses mitigate their Coronavirus-related losses. With a total value of $2 trillion, the legislation authorizes federal funding for states, companies, individuals, and other entities adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, and expands the eligibility criteria for the relief programs.
This law has significant implications for the promotional products industry. It provides disaster relief for industry companies, including deferred tax payments, loans with forgiveness options, and direct payments to businesses and individuals.
Last updated 3/28/2020
Disclaimer: As always, it is important to check with your accountants, bankers or lawyers for definitive information as to eligibility for benefits.
This summary report of recent laws is not, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice, and the summary report should not be relied upon as such. Each reviewer is encouraged to consult independent legal and tax counsel before making any decisions concerning the matters in this communication.
First, the CARES Act provides $350 billion for paycheck protection loans to small businesses and non-profits to help them maintain their workforce. There are options for these loans to be forgiven if the employer maintains their payroll throughout the public health crisis.
The amount of the loan is 2.5 times the average monthly expenses for payroll from March 2019-February 2020, with a cap of $10,000,000. The loan proceeds can be used to pay payroll, benefits, rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and interest on pre-existing loans. The loan will be forgiven to the extent the borrower maintains its payroll from March 15-June 30, with compensation capped at $100,000 for any individual employee. There is no loan forgiveness for mandated sick pay or new FMLA paid leave. The changes in full-time equivalent employees will adjust the amount of loan forgiveness.
Employers may delay the payment of employer portion of FICA payroll taxes until December 31, 2021, if they do not qualify for the loan forgiveness. The employer may pay 50% of payroll taxes on December 31, 2021, and the remaining 50% by December 31, 2022.
Particularly significant for the promotional products industry is that this law expands eligibility for this program to include independent contractors, sole proprietors, and some self-employed individuals. The paycheck protection program will be administered by the SBA. Those interested may contact the SBA to investigate applying for loans. This provision is retroactive to February 15, so it may include coverage for employees who have already been laid off, and remains effective until June 30.
The legislation creates a pandemic unemployment assistance program for several categories of workers, including people who may not typically be eligible for unemployment benefits.
- This unemployment assistance is now available for self-employed and part-time workers as well as independent contractors so long as the covered individual meets the certification requirements.
- Former employees whose employers did not subscribe to state unemployment are eligible for unemployment compensation under the CARES Act.
- The criteria is basically as follows: The individual is able and available for work, except the individual is unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work because of the effects of COVID-19 on the individual, the individual’s family member or the individual’s employer.
- An individual will not qualify if:
- The individual has the ability to telework with pay; or is receiving paid sick leave or other paid leave benefits, regardless of whether the individual meets the certification criteria.
- This unemployment relief also includes a temporary emergency increase of $600 per week to individuals who receive pandemic unemployment assistance or unemployment insurance.
- Unemployed workers may connect with local and state unemployment insurance resources and monitor future announcements from federal and state governments.
The CARES Act expands the funding issued through small business loans. The CARES Act relaxes some existing Small Business Administration (SBA) restrictions, so recipients may be eligible to receive loan forgiveness for some payroll costs, including mortgage interest payments, rent, and utilities.
The CARES Act also expands the availability of these loans to include public and private entities with up to 500 employees.
The law also provides funding for the Small Business Administration to help companies cover six months of payments for businesses that already have SBA loans.
The CARES Act provides funding for the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and territories are now eligible to apply for a long-term, low-interest loan due to COVID-19. The SBA’s EIDL program can provide small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million to overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
The CARES Act also allows the SBA to offer businesses emergency grants up to $10,000 to cover operating costs. Under the terms of the CARE Act, the SBA can expedite grants to give companies access to a portion of the loan funds to pay for a variety of debt obligations, including sick leave and payroll.
Under the 2020 Recovery Rebate for Individuals, the CARES Act provides recovery checks to most taxpayers, consisting of up to $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for married couples filing jointly, and $500 for children. The relief assistance payments will be means-tested, and the eligibility for the assistance will decrease incrementally at incomes above $75,000.
The CARES Act also extends the individual tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15. Corporations may postpone estimated tax payments due after the date of enactment until October 15, 2020.
Under the Family First Coronavirus Response Act passed on March 20, 2020, which was modified by the CARES Act, employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide two weeks’ worth of paid sick leave (80 hours for full-time; 2, weeks average for part-time). Employees qualify if they have 30 days or more tenure with the employer. If an employee is unable to work due to quarantine or isolation; is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19; or is caring for someone who is in quarantine or isolation or has a child or children in schools that have closed due to COVID-19. Employers themselves will receive tax credits to offset the costs of providing this paid leave.
In addition, the Family Medical Leave Act now includes Public Health Emergency Leave. This paid leave must arise from the same reasons as the paid sick leave. This new portion of FMLA applies to employers with more than one employee. After the two weeks paid sick leave or two weeks paid leave under an employer’s existing policies, the employee may take up to twelve weeks of paid family medical leave at two-thirds of their compensation.
Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from the requirements when the imposition of such requirements would jeopardize the viability of the business as a going concern.
The CARES Act amends the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to limit employers’ obligations regarding emergency paid sick leave. Under the CARES Act provisions, obligations for employers is limited to $511 per day and $5,110 overall, or $200 per day and $2,000 overall, depending on the circumstances surrounding the employee’s paid leave. Simply put, the compensation obligations are equal to the credit permitted under each of the Acts (Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and Emergency FMLA).
Some obligations for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic will be relaxed through deferred payments on estimated taxes, increased deductibility for interest expenses, and some delayed payments for payroll taxes, as noted above. In addition, the CARES Act contains the following:
- Every taxpayer will be allowed to take up to $300 as a charitable contribution without itemizing deductions.
- The cap on charitable contribution deductions is suspended for 2020.
- The corporate charitable donation limit is increased to 25% from 10%.
- The Department of Education will suspend payments for student loans without penalty through September 30.
Go to https://ppai.org/coronavirus-information/ for a full list of industry information and resources.
GR Today - March 2020 Issue
Last updated 3/23/2020
Congress Passes Coronavirus Aid
Congress and the White House have implemented numerous legislative measures to address the coronavirus pandemic from a variety of perspectives. The first piece of legislation, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, provides $8 billion for health programs, as well as $7 billion in small business loans. A second measure, named the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, provides paid leave, tax credits, expanded unemployment and nutrition assistance, and free coronavirus testing.
Both measures have been signed by the president. A third legislative response is being negotiated by Congress and the White House that could include tax breaks or other financial aid for industries affected by the coronavirus pandemic, cash to Americans, and further small business support.
Small Business Association (SBA) Disaster Loans
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program offers low-interest loans to businesses and non-profit organizations, as well as homeowners and renters. The disaster loans can be used to replace or repair various items that are damaged in a declared disaster, for example, real estate, personal property, machinery, equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
Currently, there are two components to qualify for an SBA loan. First, counties must meet an economic impact threshold for businesses within those counties to become eligible for disaster loans. After a county has been certified by SBA, businesses located in that county can become eligible for disaster loans. To determine eligibility or apply for an SBA disaster loan, click here. For more information and small business guidance regarding the coronavirus from the SBA, click here.
PPAI Joins Coalition Partners On Tariff Relief Letter
PPAI recently signed onto a letter that was sent by a free trade coalition consisting of over 160 business associations, representing hundreds of thousands of workers, to the White House. The letter requested a suspension of the tariffs enforced on imported products under the administration’s Section 301 and Section 232 investigations. The letter cited research from the Trade Partnership Worldwide LLC that shows a suspension of the tariffs on imports from China, and a suspension of China’s retaliatory tariffs, would return over $75 billion to American consumers, thus providing a boost of that same amount to the U.S. economy. PPAI is on the record opposing any import tariffs, because tariffs are essentially taxes that are paid by American consumers.
The letter also stated that since the tariffs were implemented unilaterally by the executive branch, they could also be suspended without any collaboration from Congress, and the results could take effect quickly. The tariff relief was requested in conjunction with a variety of measures being considered by the White House and Congress to help Americans cope with the economic impacts of the current public health emergency.
S.2722 Passes Senate Committee
Senate Bill 2722, also named the Stop Wasteful Advertising by the Government (SWAG) Act, passed through the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs recently. As originally introduced in October 2019, the proposed legislation would have prohibited federal agencies from procurements of promotional products that promote the agencies and their programs. The bill’s limits on promotional spending are included in a larger effort to reduce spending on public relations and advertising by federal agencies and departments.
Since the bill’s initial introduction in the U.S. Senate, PPAI staff have regularly met in-person and communicated electronically with congressional staffers regarding S. 2722, resulting in an amended version of the bill which was passed by the Senate committee on March 11. The ongoing conversations between congressional staffers and PPAI have resulted in amendments to S. 2722 that are beneficial to the promotional products industry, for example, the current version of this legislation includes a requirement for federal agencies to create annual budget justifications that include the identification of a return on investment regarding requested expenditures for promotional products.
Quick Resource
GovPredict.com has developed a resource site to track and compare every state's bills in response to the coronavirus.
Questions or comments? E-mail us at ppailaw@ppai.org or call 888-I-AM-PPAI (426-7724).
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Tariff News
Articles:
Texas Town Hall Illustrates Tariffs’ National Impact (10/23/2018)
Tariffs Likely To Change Client Conversations, Distributor Say (9/20/2018)
Industry Leaders Prepare For Impact Of Tariffs (8/14/2018)
U.S. Steel, Aluminum Tariffs Go Into Effect (6/5/2018)
Partners:
PPAI’s coalition partners have prepared an interactive resource that shows the impact tariffs are having across the country.
Current Tariffs:
PPAI has enlisted the help of an experienced trade counsel to explain the Section 301 tariffs. The finished product provides a plain language guide to what items are on the tariff list. The third group of products to receive additional duties under the Section 301 tariff actions were valued at $200 billion and took effect on September 24, 2018. This group listed several items that are prevalent in the promotional products industry. The duties on this group of items were set at 10% and will increase to 25% on January 1, 2019.
Watch the free webinar, How The Section 301 Tariffs Are Affecting The Promotional Products Industry
CAS 1.0
Section 301 Tariff Proposal: A Tax On Consumers
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released a list of $300 billion in Chinese products that will be subject to additional 25 percent tariffs. This is the fourth action taken by the USTR under the Section 301 investigation.
This latest list encompasses all remaining products imported from China that do not currently receive additional Section 301 tariffs.
Tariffs are taxes on American consumers. Please contact your elected officials and urge them to oppose this harmful tariff announcement.
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