The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) announced that the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) relief program application portal will be tested in a seven-day pilot period ahead of the official application launch. The official application launch date, however, has still yet to be announced.
All eligible applicants will be able to submit applications as soon as the program opens, but for the first 21 days the SBA will prioritize reviewing applications from small businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Tax Credits Available to Small Employers to Provide Paid Leave to Employees Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines
The IRS recently issued Notice IR-2021-90 reminding employers that under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), small and midsize employers and certain government employers are entitled to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees due to COVID-19. This includes leave taken by employees to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccinations.
ARP tax credits are available to eligible employers that pay sick and family for leave from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021. Under the ARP, eligible employers include any business, including tax-exempt organizations with fewer than 500 employees who are not able to work or telework due to reasons related to COVID-19, including needing to recover from any injury, disability, illness or condition related to the vaccinations.
Florida Set to Require Sales Tax of Remote Sellers
On April 19, 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 50, requiring out-of-state sellers and marketplace providers to start collecting Florida sales and use tax starting on July 1, 2021.
Ever since June 21, 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Wayfair overturned the “physical presence” requirement for states to be able to tax out-of-state businesses selling to buyers within a state, nearly all states have imposed sales tax on remote sales.