RESOURCES & NEWS

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The Chamber is committed to sharing as much information with all of you as possible.

The following financial relief resources have been aggregated in order for you to navigate what is available to you on a local, state and federal level. You will also find workplace resources as well.

If you have questions regarding these resources please feel free to reach out to Rick Weldon, President and CEO of the Chamber.

FEDERAL INFORMATION & RESOURCES

American Rescue Plan Act

The American Rescue Plan Act provides overdue aid to small businesses in the most hard-hit communities and sectors. The bill includes the following small business provisions:
The plan establishes a new $28.6 billion grant program for restaurants and bars that have lost revenue because of the pandemic.
  • The program will provide up to $10 million grants, capped at $5 million per physical location, to eligible entities, which include restaurants and drinking establishments of all sizes and formats (including food trucks, carts, bars, brewpubs, tasting rooms, etc.). 
  • In general, restaurants may receive the difference between their 2019 gross receipts and their 2020 gross receipts. The law provides for separate calculations for businesses that began operations midway through 2019, that opened in 2020, or that are not operating yet but have incurred expenses before March 10, 2021 in anticipation of opening. 
  • Award amounts will be reduced by the amount of any PPP loan an applicant has received. 
  • Grants may be used for a wide variety of expenses, including payroll, mortgage, rent, utilities, supplies, food and beverage expenses, paid sick leave, and operational expenses.
  • $5 billion is set aside for restaurants with 2019 gross receipts of $500,000 or less. In addition, for the first 21 days the program is open, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is required to prioritize applications from businesses owned by women, veterans and members of economically and socially disadvantaged communities.
  • The SBA is working to establish and launch this program in the coming weeks. Interested restaurants and bars should monitor the SBA website for next steps.
Other elements of the plan will provide the following:
  • The plan expands Paycheck Protection Program eligibility to include more nonprofits and digital news companies, as well as an additional $7.25 billion for the program
  • The plan provides $15 billion for new targeted EIDL grants.
  • The plan adds $1.25 billion to the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program.
  • The plan provides $175 million for a Community Navigator Pilot Program.

Economic Relief Plan (CARES Act) for Individuals and Businesses

On December 21, 2020 Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief bill that includes enhanced unemployment benefits and direct cash payments. As part of this new pandemic relief package, Congress has passed several changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Congress has also made changes to other programs, including Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL Program) and the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

Payroll Protection Program (PPP) Changes: Loans for first time borrowers are again available, and Congress has created a "Second Draw" PPP for small businesses that have exhausted their initial loan.

PPP "Second Draw" Program: The brand new “Second Draw” program is for small businesses, non-profits, sole proprietors, and independent contractors who have exhausted their initial PPP loan. The program will make new loans through March 31, 2021 or until the new funding is exhausted.

Companies are eligible for a Second Draw if they have exhausted their first PPP loan and  AND have less than 300 employees, AND have experienced a greater than 25% reduction in gross receipts during the first, second, third, or fourth quarter in 2020 relative to the same quarter in 2019. Entities with significant ties to China are ineligible for a second draw loan. A loan may not exceed $2 million.

New (first time) PPP Loans: For new PPP applicants, the loan process will largely remain the same with a few major changes: 
The PPP program is open through March 31, 2021 or until the new funding is exhausted.

Enterprises that are a 501(c)(6), a local news media organization, or a housing cooperative may be newly eligible for a loan. A business may qualify even if it took advantage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit. Publicly traded companies are now prohibited from receiving a loan. The maximum loan amount is now $2 million.

Expanded List of Expenses Qualifying for Forgiveness: The list of expenses that PPP funds can be used for that qualify for loan forgiveness has been expanded to include operations expenses, supplier costs, and worker protection expenses. It is still the case that not more than 40% of the forgiven amount can be for non-payroll costs.The new law also provides that regular business expenses paid for with PPP loan proceeds shall be deductible for tax purposes (applies to past and future loans).  

Additional Loan Forgiveness Provisions: If you also received an EIDL grant, your PPP loan forgiveness will no longer be reduced by the amount of the grant. The period for which expenses count toward loan forgiveness will begin on the date of loan origination and end on a date of your choosing that is between 8 and 24 weeks after origination. If your loan was for less than $150,000, there will be a simplified one-page application process for loan forgiveness.

EIDL Grants: The new law reopens the $10,000 EIDL Grant program. Priority for the full amount of the EIDL grant will be given to small businesses with less than 300 employees, located in low-income neighborhoods, who have experienced a 30% reduction in gross receipts during any 8-week period between March 2, and December 31, 2020 compared to a comparable 8-week period before March 2.

Expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit: The new law significantly expands the employee retention tax credit beginning on January 1, 2021. The new credit is 70% on $10,000 in wages per quarter (or a maximum $14,000 per employee through June 30th). 

The new law also expands which employers are eligible. Eligibility now includes employers who experienced a decline in gross receipts of more than 20% in a quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019. Employers with 500 or fewer employees can now claim the credit for wages paid to employees regardless of whether the employee is providing services. 

Employers can now also receive both the Employee Retention Tax Credit and a PPP loan, just not to cover the same payroll expenses. The credit expires on June 30, 2021.

SBA Loan Debt Forgiveness: The new law resumes the government payment of monthly principal and interest on small business loans guaranteed by the SBA under the 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs. Borrowers with loans approved by the SBA prior to the CARES Act will receive an additional three months of payments beginning in February of 2021. Those payments will be capped at $9,000 per borrower per month

What Small Businesses Need to Know About the New Pandemic Relief Package (Changes to PPP & More!) 

This comprehensive resource page, compiled by the US Chamber of Commerce, provides information on some of the changes made by Congress as part of the end-of-year pandemic relief package.

Answers to the following questions and issues are addressed:
  • How Do These Changes Impact My Existing PPP Loan?
  • I Exhausted My Initial PPP Loan, How Does This Help Me?
  • What If I Never Received a PPP Loan?
  • Which Changes to Other Programs That May Help My Small Business Have Been Changed?
  • Expanded Employee Retention Tax Credit
  • EIDL Grants
  • Grants for Shuttered Venue Operators
  • SBA Loan Debt Forgiveness

NFIB Resource Document

National Federation of Independent Business has put together this quick high-level reference addressing the main takeaways from the COVID-19 Recovery 2.0 legislation that small business owners should know. Information includes: Economic Impact Payment Check 2.0, Tax Provisions, EIDL Advance Grant 2.0, Economic Impact Payment Check 2.0 and ​PPP 2.0.

Small Business Administration Extends EIDL Program to 12/21

The U.S. Small Business Administration has extended the application for the  Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program for the COVID-19 Pandemic disaster to Dec. 31, 2021. 

EIDL loan applications will continue to be accepted through December 2021, pending the availability of funds. Loans are offered at very affordable terms, with a 3.75% interest rate for small businesses and 2.75% interest rate for nonprofit organizations, a 30-year maturity, and an automatic deferment of one year before monthly payments begin. Every eligible small business and nonprofit are encouraged to apply to get the resources they need.

As of December 2020, the SBA has approved $197 billion in low-interest loans which provides working capital funds to small businesses, non-profits and agricultural businesses make it through this challenging time.

STATE RESOURCES & INFORMATION

RELIEF Act: $1 Billion Emergency Stimulus and Tax Relief Package 

On January 11, 2021, Governor Larry Hogan introduced the RELIEF Act of 2021, an emergency legislative package that plans to provide over $1 billion in stimulus and tax relief to MD families, businesses and those rendered unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This package is in addition to the $700 million in relief that the governor has previously announced. Hogan has also implored both houses of the legislature to act on it immediately so he can sign it into law as soon as possible.

The RELIEF Package (Recovery for the Economy, Livelihoods, Industries, Entrepreneurs, and Families Act) includes the following:
  • Direct stimulus payments for low to moderate-income Marylanders. Benefits up to $750 will go out to families and benefits up to $450 will go out to individuals. Immediate payments of $500 (families) and $300 (individuals) who filed the Earned Income Tax Credit will go out with an additional $250 (families) and $150 (individuals) going out in a second-round stimulus
  • A repeal of all state and local income taxes on unemployment benefits
  • Further support for small businesses with sales tax credits of up to $3000 per month for 4 months (up to $12000)
  • An extension on unemployment tax relief for small businesses
  • A safeguard for MD businesses against any tax increase caused by use of state loans/grant funds

The package is funded by the remaining surplus at the end of the 2020 Fiscal Year, budget reductions and a small portion of MD’s Rainy Day Fund. 

COVID-19 Health & Economic Relief Initiatives

On December 17, Governor Larry Hogan announced a series of additional COVID-19 health and economic relief initiatives to help struggling Maryland families and small businesses. He was joined by Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz and Housing Secretary Kenneth Holt.

“We continue to take constant actions on a daily basis to fight this virus from all directions, while Congress continues to fail at the one simple thing we have been asking them to do for the last eight months, which is to provide additional relief for our struggling families and small businesses,” said Governor Hogan. “Today, we are immediately taking additional state actions to help businesses struggling to hang on to avoid the prospect of more layoffs right before Christmas, or being forced to go out of business in a matter of weeks.”

The State of Maryland has already announced $500 million in emergency economic relief. While stimulus negotiations in Congress remain gridlocked, the governor announced the following additional measures to help Marylanders weather this crisis:
  • EMERGENCY TAX RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES. The governor has issued an executive order to prevent small businesses from facing major increases in their unemployment taxes. An employer’s 2021 tax rate will be calculated based on their non-pandemic experience by excluding the 2020 fiscal year, and instead by using the last three fiscal years of 2017, 2018, and 2019. This order will provide relief for businesses already operating on razor-thin margins, and help keep more people on their payrolls. Read the executive order and the Maryland Department of Labor release.
  • FORGIVENESS OF $75 MILLION IN EMERGENCY LOANS. To provide additional economic relief, the governor has directed the Department of Commerce to forgive the $75 million in emergency loans that the state provided to businesses during the first round of economic relief in March and convert them all to grants.
  • $37 MILLION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. The governor announced that the State of Maryland anticipates providing nearly $25 million to finance approximately 2,000 units of low income housing—a new record. The governor also announced that he is releasing an additional $12 million to the Rental Housing Works program to spur more construction and more jobs across the state.

Forbearance for Business Tax Returns and Payments

Extension also provided for withholding and estimated income tax filings and payments
Comptroller Peter Franchot announced that his agency has extended filing and payment deadlines for certain Maryland business taxes and quarterly estimated income tax returns and payments that would be due in January, February and March 2021 until April 15, 2021. The action is similar to an extension granted last year to businesses during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. No interest or penalties will be assessed and there is no need to file a request for extension.

Businesses and self-employed individuals or independent contractors with estimated income tax returns and payments due on January 15, 2021 also will be granted an extension until April 15, 2021.
"As businesses await approval of applications for grants and loans, receipt of funds and additional federal government action, these tax extensions immediately alleviate financial pressures during challenging times,” Comptroller Franchot said. “Just like last year when we gave businesses a breather, after 90 days, taxpayers will remit what is due, ensuring this action is budget neutral for the State of Maryland.”

​Employers must complete their 2020 withholding tax returns and payments due by January 31, 2021, ensuring that W-2s will be delivered on time for taxpayers to file when the tax season begins at the end of January. Any State withholding returns and payments originally due between February 1, 2021 and April 14, 2021 may be submitted by April 15, 2021 without incurring interest and penalties. Employers must still file and pay Federal withholding taxes. 

The extension applies to business taxes administered by the Comptroller: sales and use, admissions and amusement, alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel tax, as well as tire recycling fee and bay restoration fee returns and payments with due dates between January 1, 2021 and April 14, 2021. 
The Comptroller’s Office has established a dedicated email address — taxpayerrelief@marylandtaxes.gov — to assist businesses with extension-related questions. 
​
These extensions apply only to tax filings under the authority of the Comptroller of Maryland. Taxpayers may need to consult other state agencies regarding the deadlines for other tax filings, such as personal property or unemployment insurance.

 LOCAL RESOURCES & RESOURCES

Second Round of Grants Offered to Frederick Count Food Service Establishments

 Frederick County restaurants and food service businesses are being offered a second round of grants. County Executive Jan Gardner announced that an additional $1.3 million would be distributed in January. Food service businesses that received funding in the first round will automatically receive a second grant. Those that did not receive funds in the fall may apply now through 3 p.m. Wednesday, January 13.

Grants will be awarded in two categories. The first category includes commercially located bakeries and caterers, carry-out restaurants that have no seating, and food trucks. The second group includes restaurants without drive-thrus, and wineries, breweries, and distilleries. The amount of each grant will be determined by the number of establishments that apply. All eligible businesses in a given category will receive the same amount of funding.

Questions about the grant program can be emailed to the Office of Economic Development at OED@FrederickCountyMD.gov.

Food Distribution Locations

People in need of food can locate nearby distribution sites on a new online mapping application. Developed in partnership with numerous community organizations, the mobile-friendly tool allows users to find food distribution sites all across Frederick County. It provides detailed information about more than 80 locations, including hours of operation, directions, and more. 

WORKPLACE RESOURCES

Vaccines in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Employers

​As COVID-19 vaccines become available, many employers are left wondering how to approach vaccines in the workplace. In preparation for the time when vaccines are more widely available, many employers begin to develop policies to add to their company’s existing COVID-19 procedures. Hear from healthcare employers, who were first to receive the vaccine for distribution in their workforce as they address questions of how to implement vaccination programs. This resource addresses many common, and some uncommon, questions about vaccines in the workplace.

UPCOMING EVENTS

NEW MEMBERS
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