MRPR Blog

If you are a small business owner, we are sending a (virtual) high-five your way for enduring the last few weeks of the COVID-19 crisis. You are navigating financial and emotional stress as well as a mountain of information to apply for financial aid packages from the government. At MRPR we are aiming to update information and help you sift through the important details as you create a disaster mitigation strategy for your business.

As the nation battles the COVID-19 pandemic, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have risen to the task of assisting taxpayers suffering from economic hardship and who have seen their lives upended by national social-distancing measures.

In a previous article; Internal Revenue Service Notice 2020-18 we outlined the details of the sweeping relief to taxpayers as the nation battles the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Under the Notice, most income tax filing deadlines have been extended from April 15, 2020, to July 15, 2020, with no interest or penalty to taxpayers.

The IRS has now released Notice 2020-20, which clarifies and amplifies the relief granted under the previous notice.

On March 27, 2020, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-26, granting Michigan taxpayers much-needed relief as Michigan and the nation at large, battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Treasury and SBA released the application and guidelines for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP loan) in the evening of March 31, 2020. As we mentioned in an earlier blog, the Paycheck Protection Program is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and is designed for small businesses with 500 or fewer employees. The program has set aside $350 billion to fund federally guaranteed loans with the unique feature of being partially or fully forgiven, provided certain parameters are met.

After much debate in Congress, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2020. It is the latest in a series of aid and relief packages to assist Americans as the nation struggles with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This law represents the single largest domestic relief package ever passed by Congress and provides much-needed aid both to individual taxpayers and businesses.

The COVID-19 virus is having an immense economic impact on businesses and individuals. Our team at MRPR has been tracking local, state and federal policy regarding emergency funding. Things are changing quickly and we understand this information can be both confusing and overwhelming for business owners to navigate on their own.

In recent weeks, we have been asked most often about the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). These loans provide funds to small businesses for working capital needs or normal operating expenses in amounts ranging up to $2 million, through the businesses’ recovery period.

We have gathered the updates you need to know released by the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Department Of The Treasury regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).

We kindly ask that you take a moment to familiarize yourself with these updates and reach out to MRPR if we may be of further assistance.

On March 21, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2020-18, providing information and guidance to taxpayers as the United States addresses the global COVID-19 (Wuhan coronavirus) pandemic. President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration on March 13, 2020, empowering Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to grant certain relief to taxpayers as more and more sectors of the U.S. economy are shuttered or otherwise contracted to slow the spread of the virus. 

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act H.R. 6201 was signed into law by President Trump after the Senate passed the bill by a 90-8 vote. The Act contains provisions for paid leave for employees, tax credits for business owners, COVID-19 testing, unemployment insurance and additional funding for government programs. The bill takes effect no later than April 1, 2020, and it will sunset on Dec. 31, 2020.