Congress is poised to pass a landmark stimulus bill to help citizens, small businesses, and corporations alike. Our team at Miller, Turetsky, Rule & McLennan is in the process of doing a thorough review of the new legislation to advise all of our clients on how they will be impacted. In the meantime, here are the big takeaways from the latest public draft of the bill:
- A significant expansion in unemployment benefits: The new bill extends unemployment insurance by 13 weeks and includes a four-month enhancement of benefits which would allow workers to maintain their full salary if they are forced out of work as a result of the pandemic.
- Direct payments to individuals. Individuals will receive direct payments of $1,200 as long as their income is below $75,000. For workers making more than $75,000 the payments will be reduced, and phased out for those making more than $99,000. Those limits are doubled for couples. Families with a dependent child will receive an additional $500.
- Lending programs for small businesses. Small businesses that retain their employees through the pandemic will be eligible for federal loans which would be forgiven at the end of the pandemic, assuming workers are not laid off during that time. However, the forgiveness of the loan, without further legislation, may constitute income for tax purposes.
Once the legislation passes the House of Representatives and is signed by the President we will have further updates on the final version.