Small businesses benefit from Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 14, 2020) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement from Vice President of Federal Government Relations Kevin Kuhlman in response to the introduction of the Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020.
“The Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020 will help provide America’s small businesses with more certainty and necessary assistance. NFIB strongly supports many provisions in the legislation and appreciates the efforts of Senators and Representatives who have pushed for consideration.
“This legislation importantly protects small business owners from a surprise tax increase by restoring the deductibility of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgiven expenses, allows for another targeted round of PPP for struggling small businesses, and provides a simplified forgiveness process for PPP loans less than $150,000. While we need to review the details of the legislation, we are encouraged by the progress made thus far. We recommend continued work to create liability protections for small businesses.
“The NFIB Uncertainty Index remains historically high for the small business economy, which represents nearly half the economy and has been most hard hit by government-imposed shutdowns. NFIB urges Congress to consider this proposal or similar legislation before the end of the year to help hard-hit businesses stay afloat. These Members of Congress deserve tremendous credit for creating momentum for legislation when there was none. The need is urgent as more than half of small businesses anticipate needing additional financial assistance in the next twelve months and one in four small businesses cannot last an additional six months under current economic conditions.”
