Tracking expenses is an important part of maximizing PPP loan forgiveness. Once you identify which expenses are eligible for PPP forgiveness, it’s time to start keeping track of these expenses and calculate your potential forgiveness amount. The Anders CARES Act Research and Response Team put together tracking tools you can use to make it easier...

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1. Administration Calls for Additional Funding for PPP

One of the most popular programs created in the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), has released over $70 billion to small businesses to help them remain viable during this pandemic. Due to the large demand, the Administration has requested additional funding for that program in a letter to Congressional leaders.

NECA’s look Ahead: Senate Democrats requested an additional $250 billion for hospitals and local governments in addition to funding for the PPP while Republican leaders argued that funding for the PPP is the only account that requires additional immediate funding at this time. The Senate adjourned on April 9, 2020 unable to pass additional funding for the PPP under unanimous consent.

2. Treasury Guidance Clarifies Qualifications for PPP Borrowers

With the passage of the CARES Act, many agencies have been scrambling to enact the reforms and programs developed in rapid time. One such program, the Paycheck Protection Program, which allows substantial loans to be granted under favorable terms by the Small Business Administration, came under scrutiny for potentially requiring businesses to meet both size and revenue requirements instead of just the size requirements (under 500 employees) originally required. While this scrutiny came from an over-cautious interpretation of an earlier guidance, the Treasury Department offered additional guidance to make it clear to borrowers that they may meet either the revenue standards listed under a given NAICS code or qualify by having less than 500 employees. 

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA worked with key leaders once the CARES Act was signed into law to attain greater clarity on this issue for our contractors. This new change will give NECA contractors the predictability they need to move forward with the new SBA loan program. We will continue to monitor the implementation of the CARES Act and continue to maintain in constant conversation with Congressional staff and agency officials to communicate the needs of our members. 

3. DOD Releases Rule on Payment to Small Business Contractors

Earlier this week the Department of Defense (DOD) released a final rule on the defining and implementation of accelerated payments to classified small businesses under DOD contracts. The rule (DFARS Case 2018–D068) which finalizes the implementation of a section from 2019’s National Defense Authorization Act urges the federal government to pay small business contractors within 15 days of the receipt of a proper invoice. While this is only a goal for the federal government and not a direct mandate, which NECA advocated for in the past, we view this final rule and its upcoming full implementation as a positive step forward.

NECA’s Look Ahead: We encourage NECA contractors to read the final rule and monitor its implementation on DOD contracts. With your feedback and on-the-ground experiences, we will be better able to make lawmakers and agency officials aware of its progress.

1. OSHA Issues Additional Guidance on COVID as Recordable Illness

On April 10, 2020, OSHA released updated enforcement guidance for recording cases of COVID-19. The guidance clarifies that OSHA’s recordkeeping requirement for COVID-19 as a recordable illness applies to those in the healthcare industry and emergency response organizations. OSHA will not enforce its recordkeeping requirements to employers outside of these sectors.

NECA’s Look Ahead: NECA has been working with OSHA to make this clarification to ensure that NECA contractors are not responsible for recording COVID-19 on their OSHA 300 logs on the basis that it is impossible to prove COVID-19 was contracted on the jobsite.

2. GSA Issues Order Allowing Electronic Signatures for Bonding

NECA Government Affairs has worked with allied groups in the construction industry to push the General Services Administration (GSA) to issue an order allowing bonding vendors and sureties to use electronic signatures instead of the typically required ‘wet’ signatures. By doing so, our contractors can receive bonding, necessary on a majority of jobs, sooner and with less unnecessary contact during these challenging times.  We are pleased to announce that this reform was recently issued. While this strictly applies to only GSA contracts, NECA government affairs, along with others, is working to spread this reform to the entirety of the federal government.

NECA’s Look Ahead: Our contractors commend the GSA for their prompt response and reasonable revision. NECA will continue to work with the GSA and other construction industry groups to push for responsible reform and the removing of barriers to our industry’s reinvigoration.

3. NECA Calls for Additional Funding for Paycheck Protection Program

NECA and many of its Chapters joined over two hundred trade associations in sending a letter to Congress to urge emergency funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The PPP has been very successful and widely utilized by the construction industry according to the Small Business Administration. The program ran out of funding on April 16, 2020.

NECA’s Look Ahead: With both the House and the Senate officially out of session until May, it  seems unlikely that Congress will be able to agree to and pass by unanimous consent, NECA remains committed to urging Congress to continue to fund this important program and return to Washington D.C. to start critical negotiations for Phase IV COVID-19 legislation. 

The IRS recently released guidance on the CARES Act employment tax deposit deferral. Below are the highlights of the deferral, including eligibility, timeline and use with other incentives.
Deferral Eligibility
The CARES Act allows employers to defer deposits and payments… Read More

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Tracking expenses is an important part of maximizing PPP loan forgiveness. Once you identify which expenses are eligible for PPP forgiveness, it’s time to start keeping track of these expenses and calculate your potential forgiveness amount. The Anders CARES Act… Read More

The post Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Calculator appeared first on Anders CPAs.

As part of the CARES Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is authorizing accelerated and advance payments to any Medicare physicians, provider or supplier who submits a request to the appropriate Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) and meets… Read More

The post CMS Offers Accelerated and Advance Medicare Payments for Physicians, Providers and Suppliers appeared first on Anders CPAs.

Paycheck Protection Program Helping Contractors aconstanza Mon, 05/04/2020 - 12:47

In respect of term loans, insurers are permitted to grant a moratorium of three months towards payment of instalments falling due between 1st March 2020 and 31st May 2020.

The borrower has SBI Max Gain home loan at 8.55 per cent under the MCLR option.

Rent payment is one of the biggest monthly expenditures, especially for youngsters living away from parental homes. In the case of credit cards, accrual of interest gets tricky.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma shares tips on braving the Coronavirus impact on business

COVID-19 impact: OYO cuts 25% of fixed pay of employees; some staff sent on leave

No salaries for Apr, May; hours flown-based pay for those operating cargo flights: SpiceJet to pilots

Covid-19 crisis: SpiceJet to pay part salaries to 92% of employees, no job cuts

Yediyurappa announced a special relief package of Rs 1,610 crore to assist people from various affected sectors on Wednesday, which was welcomed by his political opponents.

PayPal separated from eBay earlier this year, and Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman has stated he is looking to use PayPal's size to offer affordable financial services widely.

Bengaluru: The Union Cabinet’s decision to freeze the DA of its employees till July 2021 and Kerala’s decision to absorb a month’s salary of its employees to the CM’s relief fund to fight Covid-19 has put pressure on chief minister BS Yediyurappa to bite the bullet.The chief minister or the Karnataka Cabinet is yet to take a call on reworking pay and compensation package of its employees in the face of a sharp drop in revenues, and enormous pressure on the finance department to meet the rising demand for funds for Covid-19-related activities and the farm sector.The chief minister had told ET last week that he will take a decision in two weeks after assessing the situation.Karnataka’s salary and pension bill per month comes to about Rs 5,500 crore, and the state has been able to hold on because of the impressive GST collections last month on account of good business climate in February. The commercial tax department does not have any hopes of decent collections over the next two months because of the host of relief announced by the ministry of finance to dealers on GST remittances. The department can hope to have considerable collections only in June. All other major revenue sources for the Karnataka government such as liquor sales, property and vehicles registration are nearly dry.Several IT companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro have deferred annual increments.

"During this period of volatility in other asset classes, a large number of PPB bank account holders are moving their savings into fixed deposits during the ongoing lockdown," stated Paytm Payments Bank.

The non-state lender on its part is not reporting such customers to these institutions.

Take a marathon for instance; while one runner may have a calculative approach, another might count on his unmatched stamina to run for miles together without stopping - but both could be champions in the same sport, just that their approach is different.

Where unit-linked policies mature and fund value is to be paid in lumpsum, Life Insurers may offer staggered settlement option to policyholders. This onetime option is regardless of whether such option exists or not in the specific product.

You may now get the option from your insurer to pay your health insurance premiums on a monthly, quarterly or half-yearly basis in addition to the current option of paying premiums on an annual basis amid coronavirus outbreak.

Notably, Bharti AXA General Insurance’s proposal for a usage-based motor insurance product was shortlisted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India for its regulatory sandbox project.

"Among the top 30 H-1B employers are major US firms including Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook. All of them take advantage of program rules in order to legally pay many of their H-1B workers below the local median wage for the jobs they fill," said the report released by the Economic Policy Institute.

Your career is undeniably the biggest investment of your working life. Where the gender pay gap exists, it means that for the same work, you are getting a lower salary due to your gender. Progressive workplaces understand and take steps to fill this gap.

If the company is planning lay-offs, start circulating your resume and talking to people in the industry without discussing it with colleagues. It is also a good idea to build a contingency fund to help you sail through in case you don’t find a job immediately.

The payments bank sees average monthly remittances of close to Rs 5,000 crore from daily wage earners working in various factories, construction sites, small businesses, plumbers, carpenters, cab drivers, among others.

'Indian farmers could be rich if the govt would leave them alone'

The country's largest domestic airlines had on Friday announced pay cut ranging between 5 and 25 per cent.

The amount towards upfront payment to the coal-bearing states i.e. Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha was sanctioned, an official said.

Bank Hapoalim B.M. (BHBM), an Israeli bank with international operations, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. (BHS), have agreed to forfeit $20,733,322 and pay a fine of $9,329,995 to resolve an investigation into their involvement in a money laundering conspiracy that fueled an international soccer bribery scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd issued the following statement in support of efforts to streamline payments under the Public Safety Officer Benefit Program (PSOB) to public safety officers fatally injured while working during COVID-19:

A Miami, Florida, business owner was sentenced to 24 months in prison today for failing to pay over employment taxes, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan for the Southern District of Florida.

On March 18, a federal court ordered El Mundo Feliz, a Partnership (El Mundo), and Daniel Martinez Jr. to begin paying employment taxes to the United States on a timely basis, the Justice Department announced today.

Jeffrey A. Rosen, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Richard E. Zuckerman, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Don Fort, the Chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), announced today the guilty plea of Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd. and filing of criminal charges against Bank Hapoalim B.M. for conspiring with U.S. taxpayers and others to hide more than $7.6 billion in more than 5,500 secret Swiss and Israeli bank accounts and the income generated in these accounts from the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS).  BHS’s Chief Executive Officer appeared on behalf of the bank to enter the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. has agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle charges for providing the SEC with incomplete and inaccurate securities trading information known as “blue sheet data.”…