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In This Issue:

  • The American Rescue Plan 
  • Governor Whitmer FY22 State Budget Overview
  • RELAUNCH Greater Lansing Vaccine Toolkit

The American Rescue Plan

President Joe Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 on March 11. The $1.9 trillion package aims to provide COVID-19 related-relief to businesses, individuals, unemployed, schools, public health, and local governments.

Key Highlights of The American Rescue Plan:

Expansion of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

  • Increases funding total to a little under $814 billion
  • Maintains eligibility for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) organizations
  • Expands eligibility to labor organizations, social/recreational clubs, and fraternal benefit societies

Restaurant Revitalization Grants

  • Creates $28.6 billion in restaurant revitalization funds. These funds are available for the Small Business Administration to award equitably to businesses of different sizes based on annual gross receipts
  • $5 billion is available to businesses with gross receipts of $500,000 or less during 2019.
  • Maximum: The total grant amount for an eligible business and any affiliated businesses is capped at $10 million and is limited to $5 million per physical location of the business

Employee Retention Tax Credit

  • Extends the employee retention credit through Dec. 31. The employee retention credit was originally enacted in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136, and it allows eligible employers to claim a credit for paying qualified wages to employees.
  • Expands eligibility for the credit to new startups established after Feb. 15, 2020, and companies if their revenue declined by 90% compared to the same calendar quarter of the previous year. The credit is capped at $50,000 per calendar quarter for startups.

Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program

  • Provides $386 million for rapid retraining programs to reskill unemployed veterans for high-demand jobs or high-technology programs.

Economic Impact Payments

  • Eligible persons will receive up to $1,400 for single individuals ($2,800 for married taxpayers filing a joint return.
  • Eligible persons will receive $1,400 for each qualifying dependent.
  • The income phaseout for these amounts is narrower than the prior rounds of payments —it begins at $75,000 for single filers ($150,000 for joint filers) and fully phases out at $80,000 for single filers ($160,000 for joint filers).
  • These limitations will be based on taxpayers’ adjusted gross income from their most recently filed federal tax return

Unemployment Benefits

  • Benefit remains at $300/week through Sept. 6.
  • Increases the total number of weeks from 50 weeks to 79 weeks for individuals that don’t qualify for regular benefits.
  • No changes to eligibility to benefits for individuals that don’t qualify for state unemployment benefits (e.g., self-employed, gig workers, and others in non-traditional employment).

Expanded Child Tax Credit

  • Increases the 2021 child tax credit to a maximum of $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6) and makes the credit fully refundable.
  • The maximum age of a qualifying child has been increased from 16 to 17.
  • The Treasury and IRS have been instructed to establish a program to make advance payments to taxpayers eligible for the credit in the form of periodic payments during the year.

If you are looking for additional guidance for your business, non-profit, company, or yourself, please contact any of the following LRCC members:

Governor Whitmer FY22 State Budget Overview

In case you missed it, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan (CRC) provided an overview of Governor Whitmer’s FY22 state budget proposal. The CRC is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan public policy research organization that studies state & local government in Michigan.

Video of Presentation
Presentation PowerPoint

Employer Vaccination Communication Toolkit

The RELAUNCH Greater Lansing Task Force has produced an employer vaccine guidebook that can serve as a road map for how employers can manage the process of communicating with employees and protecting their team members and stakeholders’ safety and health. This helpful toolkit and online publication include a business preparedness checklist, FAQ’s, vaccination preparation plan, sample employee survey, and more.

We strongly encourage employers to download, print, and share the toolkit within their organization to streamline communication and effectively engage employees regarding the Covid-19 vaccine. Questions can be directed to Steve Japinga at sjapinga@lansingchamber.org.

Employer Vaccination Communication Toolkit