ACEC’s Advocacy Team Summarizes the Senate’s Coronavirus Relief Legislation

Advocacy / Coronavirus

March 20, 2020

ACEC’s Advocacy Team Summarizes the Senate’s Coronavirus Relief Legislation

Summary of the CARES Act as introduced by Sen. McConnell (draft legislative text)

 

Division A: Small Business Loans

• Expansion of existing Small Business Administration loan guarantee program.
• Employers with 500 employees or fewer eligible to apply for loans through SBA-certified financial institutions.
• Maximum loan amount of $10 million, based on applicant’s average monthly payroll; mortgage, rent and utility payments; and other debt obligations over the previous year.
• Conditional upon business retaining their employees and payroll levels during the covered period (March 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020), the portion of the loan used to cover payroll and payments on pre-existing debt would be forgiven.

Senate Small Business Committee summary.

Division B: Tax Relief for Individuals, Families and Businesses

• Checks of up to $1200 individuals/$2400 joint filers, phased out at incomes of $99,000 individuals/$198,000 joint filers.
• Tax filing delayed from April 15, 2020 to July 15, 2020.
• Delay of estimated tax payments for individuals (including passthrough owners) and corporations to October 15, 2020.
• Employers and self-employed individuals can defer paying the employer share of the Social Security payroll tax (6.2%) over the following two years – half due by December 31, 2021 and the other half due by December 31, 2022.
• Allows a company to carry back net operating losses from 2018, 2019 or 2020 to be carried back for five years.
• Temporary increase in interest deducibility for businesses from 30 percent to 50 percent for 2019 and 2020.

Senate Finance Committee summary.

Division D: Health Care/Labor

• Clarifies the limits on paid emergency leave and emergency sick leave in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HR 6201).
• Expands the authority of the Department of Labor to exempt firms with fewer than 50 employees from the paid leave requirements in HR 6201.
• Allows employers and the self-employed to receive an advance tax credit from Treasury for emergency paid leave and sick leave under HR 6201instead of having to be reimbursed on the back end.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee summary.

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