A growing list of business trade associations, along with small and large retailers, are encouraging all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy that guides coverings or masks that protect the health and well-being of customers, employees (associates) and partners (suppliers) during the coronavirus pandemic.

The health and safety of associates and customers is retailers’ number one priority — and wearing a face covering or mask is scientifically proven to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the National Retail Federation (NRF) issued in a statement yesterday (7.15.2020) .

Walmart also announced on Wednesday that Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs will start requiring masks at stores nationwide starting Monday, July 20. Other major retailers that have announced support of the requirement including Starbucks, Best Buy, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Apple Retail Group, Costco and others that have implemented nationwide mask mandates.

Also, the state of Alabama became the latest in a growing number of states to require the use of facial masks when in public, Alabama’s Gov. Kay Ivey confirmed this morning, also. About half of all states now have some statewide face mask requirement in place, the latest effort to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under Ivey’s order, citizens must wear a mask in public when interacting within six feet of people from a different household. The order goes into effect Thursday (July 16) at 5 p.m. and stays in effect until at least July 31.

Since the onset of the pandemic, retailers — of all sizes — have been on the front lines of coming in contact with customers and suppliers, according to the NRF.

“Stores are private businesses that can adopt policies permitted by law for the health and safety of their associates and their customers. Shopping in a store is a privilege, not a right. If a customer refuses to adhere to store policies, they are putting employees and other customers at undue risk. Retailers are protecting the health and safety of communities they serve. Our elected leaders need to set politics aside and follow their example, said the NRF.

National Retail Federation (NRF)

Photo: GettyImages

What the Bipartisan Backers of the Changes are Seeking

1. Giving businesses more flexibility on how the money is spent.
2. An extension in the time between when the money was lent and when it is spent.

Both changes follow complaints from restaurants, hair salons and others who say they can’t hire back staff while they are closed during the coronavirus pandemic and need more money to cover their overhead costs.

Why are the changes needed?

“When we conceived the program, we thought businesses would be able to get up and running after eight weeks, but we know now that’s not the case,” Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the small business panel, said in a statement.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, the Republican chairman of the Senate’s small business committee, said lawmakers need to move fast to extend the length of time the business owners have to make the changes.

The Paycheck Protection Program, established by Congress and the President in late March, was aimed at helping businesses keep making payroll for eight weeks, despite orders to shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Sunday that revisions were expected to be made to the program by both lawmakers and administration officials.

The steps being considered will mean a shift in the program’s focus—from one that was primarily aimed at keeping employees on the payroll, to also helping to keep small businesses from failing.

“Liberalizing the rules by lowering the requirement to spend 75% on payroll-related costs and/or extending the time frame that funds can be used is critical for the survival prospects of millions of small businesses, and the ultimate success of this program,” said Ann Marie Mehlum, a former top SBA official.

Photo | GettyImages

Notice: Paycheck Protection Program closed August 8, 2020

Current law dictates that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) closed at the end of August 8, 2020. As such, SBA is no longer accepting PPP applications from participating lenders.

Resources | The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Coronavirus Pandemic

President Trump today signed into law the $480 billion funding package to deliver aid to small businesses, hospitals and the expansion of testing for Covid-19.

Yesterday, the House voted to approve the legisation, with a vote of 388-5. The bill passed the Senate on Tuesday on a voice vote.

The bill authorizes an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, which was set up to help small businesses struggling from the economic deep freeze triggered by coronavirus.

After Coronavirus-related small-business loan programs ran out of money last Thursday, Congress has been under pressure to approve follow-up or “interim” funding. Last weekend, Democrats and Republicans indicated they were close to a compromise spending bill to fund small-business loan programs — including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Funding included in the bipartisan spending bill:

$320 billion | Payroll Protection Program
$60 billion | Economic Injury Disaster Loan program
$75 billion | Funding for hospitals’ preparation for coronavirus 
$25 billion | Funding to ramp up coronavirus testing capacity

How to find out where to apply and what to expect

In an updated guidance published (PDF) April 23, the Department of the Treasury emphasized that companies that apply for PPP loans must certify that they have a real need for the money.

“It is unlikely that a public company with substantial market value and access to capital markets will be able to make the required certification in good faith, and such a company should be prepared to demonstrate to SBA, upon request, the basis for its certification,” the agency said.

This interactive map from the SBA provides a listing of PPP lenders. (However, the map still said the SBA could no longer accept applications. This was before the interim legislation was enacted.)

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While much has been reported about the economic impact of the partial federal shutdown on federal workers, coverage of the impact on large and small businesses that are federal contractors has been limited to anecdotal examples. Why? Such statistics are hard to gather due to the shutdown.*

The partial federal shutdown, now in a record fourth week, means missed paychecks for more than 800,000 government workers. But it also is having a similar, negative impact on workers in private companies, large and small, that do business with affected agencies.

The larger federal contracts go to the larger contractors who can weather the shutdown storm. However, shutdowns may be creating more stresses at smaller companies.

66% | About two-thirds of contracts with federal agencies affected by the shutdown are less than $10,000 a week

According to a limited analysis* of government contractor data by The Washington Post, there are 10,000 companies that hold contracts with federal agencies affected by the government shutdown.

$200 million | The estimated weekly value of the work by federal contractors impacted by the partial shutdown.

Quote from the Washington Post

“No one knows how many workers are affected, and overall estimates of total federal contract workers range from hundreds of thousands to millions. It’s also unknown how many have had to stop work, but company and industry officials say financial pressures on contractors are building.”

What do federal contractors do?

Federal government contractors are the source for nearly every item and service the government purchases, including vehicles, books, and furniture.

Contractor-supplied services can involve supporting government offices and programs, from clerical and keyboarding work to budget analysis and specialized studies. Other contracts for services range from housekeeping and security for government-owned properties to research and development for space exploration.

Top five services and goods contracted by weekly dollar amount

*(Via Washington Post: Estimates for contract amounts with federal agencies affected by the shutdown are based on analysis of contracting data from USAspending.gov. The data is incomplete and not being updated during shut down.)

Chart: WashingtonPost Photograph: GettyImages

Update (1.18.2019): Updated to clarify that the number 10,000 refers to the number of companies that have contracts with the federal government. It is not he number of employees at those companies.

In a multi-part investigation, Bloomberg News is exploring how an obscure legal document turned “New York’s court system into a debt-collection machine that’s chewing up small businesses across America.” The small business loan practice enables a loan company to sue a small business and take its money whenever it wants, with no proof, warning or legal recourse. The tactics being used by aggressive lenders is called a “confession of judgment” and it is being used to terrorize — and often bankrupt — small businesses across the country, according to Bloomberg.

“Rather than breaking legs, these lenders have co-opted New York’s court system and turned it into a high-speed debt-collection machine.”

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

Bloomberg Quote

“Tens of thousands of contractors, florists, and other small-business owners nationwide (are) being chewed up by the same legal process. Behind it all was a group of financiers who lend money at interest rates higher than those once demanded by Mafia loan sharks. Rather than breaking legs, these lenders have co-opted New York’s court system and turned it into a high-speed debt-collection machine. Government officials enable the whole scheme. A few are even getting rich doing it. This form of predation has found a lucrative base in New York, where state law is uniquely amenable to confessions of judgment. In a matter of days, a lender can get a county clerk to sign a judgment and a New York City marshal to confiscate cash from any bank with an office in the city — all before the borrower has a clue what’s going on. In this way, cash-advance companies have extracted hundreds of millions of dollars from thousands of small businesses over the past several years, afflicting the likes of car washes, real-estate agencies and pizzerias nationwide. Even if documents are forged or defaults fabricated, fighting back can be useless: The judgments are extremely difficult to overturn, and businesses can be destroyed before their owners even get a chance to try.”

Bloomberg Editorial

In an editorial accompanying the report, Bloomberg’s editorial board issued a call for the end of the predatory small business loan practice:

“Most business owners would never sign such an agreement if they were aware of the potential consequences. All too often they aren’t: Small business lending remains largely unregulated in the U.S., with no consistent requirements for clear disclosure of terms and interest rates.

“The best solution would be for Congress to pass a truth-in-lending law for small business, along the lines of the rules that already exist for consumer loans. This should include federal constraints on confessions of judgment — outlawing their use for new loans, or at least requiring that the borrower get a written recommendation from a lawyer before entering any such agreement (as California already does). It should also designate a federal regulator to apply the law to all lenders, no matter what they call themselves.”

Read more | Bloomberg BusinessNews: “I Hearby Confess Judgement: How an obscure legal document turned New York’s court system into a debt-collection machine that’s chewing up small businesses across America.”

As we always advise, small business owners should seek advice regarding taxes and finance from a trusted business, tax, or financial professional. This year, that advice is especially important. Why? Because last year’s tax legislation begins to have an impact on your taxes for the first time this year (in 2018). The increased deductions most small businesses will see will start showing up on the federal income tax return you file in 2019. Here are some things the IRS would like you to know. (Also, see the bottom of this page for a collection of IRS services we’ve posted.)

Eligible taxpayers may deduct up to 20 percent of certain business income from domestic businesses operated as…

• Sole proprietorships
• Partnerships
• S corporations
• Trusts
• Estates
• Certain dividends

Things business owners should know about the 20 percent deduction

• The deduction applies to qualified:– Business income
  – Real estate investment trust dividends
  – Publicly traded partnership income
• Qualified business income is the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction and loss connected to a qualified U.S. trade or business. Only items included in taxable income are counted.
• The deduction is available to eligible taxpayers, whether they itemize their deductions on Schedule A or take the standard deduction.
• The deduction is generally equal to the lesser of these two amounts:– Twenty percent of qualified business income plus 20 percent of qualified real estate investment trust dividends and qualified publicly traded partnership income.
  – Twenty percent of taxable income computed before the qualified business income deduction minus net capital gains.
• For taxpayers with taxable income computed before the qualified business income deduction that exceeds $315,000 for a married couple filing a joint return, or $157,500 for all other taxpayers, the deduction may be subject to additional limitations or exceptions. These are based on the type of trade or business, the taxpayer’s taxable income, the amount of W-2 wages paid by the qualified trade or business, and the unadjusted basis immediately after acquisition of qualified property held by the trade or business.
• Income earned through a C corporation or by providing services as an employee is not eligible for the deduction.
• Taxpayers may rely on the rules in the proposed regulations until final regulations appear in the Federal Register.

 Also on SmallBusiness.com

IRS Resources Related to How the New Tax Law May Affect Your Business | Q3-2018

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Friday is May 25, 2018. Do you know where your General Data Protection Regulation compliant privacy policy is? Do you even know what that means? Don’t feel alone. Most internet users in the U.S. had little, if any, idea that European Union regulations had anything to do with them until our email inboxes started clogging up with new privacy policies. Fortunately, someone who thought we might understand it better if it was explained with American football metaphors came up with this clever info-video.

What is the GDPR all about?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a long list of requirements that businesses in the European Union must follow to be clearer about the information they collect and use from their users or customers. Another purpose of the GDPR is to impose a uniform data security law on all EU nations so that each member state will no longer need to write its own data protection laws.

Why should websites not in the EU care about the GDPR?

On the internet, it’s easy for customers from one region to use services and purchase products in other countries. Because internet users are just a click away from EU based websites and services, many American companies have up-dated their privacy policies to adhere to GDPR requirements.

For example, Shopify created an extensive guide for the online retailers who use its software. They also created a helpful “Privacy Policy Generator” someone can use to create a privacy policy that is GDPR compliant. (Note: The generator is not legal advice, just a place to start. Run any changes by your attorney.)

Bottom line: If you sell goods, products or services to internet users in the EU, you should update your privacy policies. Even if you don’t sell things in the EU, it’s probably a good thing to review your policies and start following them.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) today (5.14.2018) launched an advocacy campaign targeting President Trump’s trade tariffs. The campaign uses a TV commercial parodying the famous classroom scene in the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, complete with actor-economist Ben Stein reviving his “anybody? anybody?” character from the movie.

“Ferris Bueller was one of the best comedies of its generation, but there’s nothing funny about tariffs and trade wars,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “It’s simple — tariffs are bad economics and always lead to unintended consequences. While we are encouraged by trade talks between the United States and China, the very threat of tariffs is causing significant uncertainty for American businesses. We support the administration’s goal of changing China’s unfair trade practices, but tariffs are the wrong approach and will only drive up prices for American consumers.”

The TV spot, which includes both a 30-second and 60-second version, can be viewed on the campaign landing page TariffsAreBad.com. It began airing on television today on the Fox News Channel morning program, “Fox and Friends.”

The ad will also air during the final episode of the season for the NBC show “Saturday Night Live” this weekend and on ABC’s “Roseanne.” The television ads will be supported with a digital campaign encouraging Americans to contact the White House and members of Congress.

Also on SmallBusiness.com

Trade Tariffs Have Unintended Consequences Warn U.S. Retailers, Farmers

A long list of the largest U.S. retailers today sent a letter to President Trump outlining their concerns about the negative impact trade tariffs can have on American families. The letter was sent a day after dozens of trade associations and companies sent a similar letter. (Companies and associations listed at bottom of page.)

Stat | The overwhelming majority of retailers are small businesses, with more than 98 percent of all retail companies employing fewer than 50 people. (American Retail Federation)

The retailers warned that the President’s trade tariffs on steel and aluminum could lead to widespread tariffs on consumer goods, like electronics, apparel, footwear, and home goods. The retailers asked the President to consider the impact on working families before taking action.

Quote from the retailer’s letter

“We are concerned about the negative impact as you consider remedial actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act could have on America’s working families … Applying any additional broad-based tariff would worsen this inequity and punish American working families with higher prices on household basics like clothing, shoes, electronics, and home goods. As you continue to investigate harmful technology and intellectual property practices, we ask that any remedy carefully consider the impact on consumer prices. We must do right by American families while also addressing harmful technology practices.”

Sandy Kennedy, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, said that imposed tariffs could set the industry back. “This is not American industries crying wolf. Higher tariffs will mean higher costs to businesses and in turn higher prices for American families. After a major tax reform victory, widespread tariffs on everyday consumer goods will wipe out much of the benefits realized by the average American household. We must do right by American families, and make sure they are not the ones who will pay for China’s harmful technology practices.”

“Tariffs are a hidden tax on Americans – plain and simple. More than 41 percent of clothing, 72 percent of footwear, and 84 percent of travel goods sold in the U.S. are made in China. A tariff on these products would be a tax on every American. In addition to increasing costs for American families, this action could result in retaliatory tariffs that target American businesses, resulting in job losses. At the end of the day, this could be disastrous for American families, American workers, and American businesses,” said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association.”

Retailers that signed the letter to Trump

Abercrombie & Fitch Co
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.
AutoZone
Best Buy
Big Lots
Chico’s FAS, Inc
Columbia Sportswear
Costco
Dollar Tree
Gap Inc
Haverty’s Furniture Co
JCPenney
JOANN Stores LLC
Kohl’s Department Stores, Inc
Ikea North America Services, LLC
Levi Strauss and Co
Macy’s
Oxford Industries, Inc
Qurate Retail Group
Sears Holdings
Target
The Michaels Companies
VF Corporation
Walmart
Wolverine Worldwide

Trade associations that signed letter to Trump

Agriculture Transportation Coalition
Airforwarders Association
Allied for Startups
American Apparel & Footwear Association
AutoCare Association
CAWA Auto Parts
Coalition of New England Companies for Trade
Columbia River Customs & Forwarders
Computer and Communications Industry Association
Consumer Technology Association (CTA)
Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of Northern California
Developers Alliance
Fashion Accessory Shippers (FASA)
Gemini Shippers Association
Grocery Manufacturers Association
Home Furnishings Association
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI)
International Wood Products Association
Internet Association
Los Angeles Customs Brokers
National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America
National Foreign Trade CouncilNational Retail Federation
NY/NJ Forwarders and Brokers Association
North American Meat Institute
Outdoor Industry Association
Pacific Northwest Asia Shippers Association
Promotional Products Association International
Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)
Snowsports Industries America
Specialty Crop Trade Council
Sports and Fitness Industry
Tea Association of the U.S.A., Inc.
TechNet
Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
The APP Association (ACT)
The Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders
The Toy Association
Travel Goods Association (TGA)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Council for International Business
U.S. Fashion Industry Association
U.S. Hide, Skin, and Leather Association
Wine and Spirits Shippers Association

istock

When Gallup’s annual survey of American’s confidence in U.S. institutions came out last June, we again noted that only the U.S. military out ranks small business as an “institution” in which Americans have the most confidence. As the U.S. “State of the Nation” is delivered this evening, we thought it is worth reposting this table to remind us that there’s nothing fake about American’s confidence in the businesses they know best. We’ve also added a table that ranks the reasons why survey respondents say they have confidence in small business.

Reasons the survey respondents give for why they have confidence in small business

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