Chamber Connections BLOG
Chamber Connections BLOG
This Week At the State House
The legislature is on break this week. The House bill filing deadline has been extended to February 27th. Both the House and Senate will resume hearings and floor sessions Tuesday, February 27, 2024. US Chamber Asks for Your Help In 2017, Congress passed a permanent reduction to the corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. To ensure that pass-through businesses like sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations (i.e., the overwhelming majority of small businesses) weren’t put at a tax disadvantage relative to C corporations, Congress created a new 20% deduction for qualified business income. This deduction is codified at section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code. Unlike the permanent reduction for C corporations, however, the 20% deduction for pass-through businesses is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. This 20% deduction effectively operates as a rate reduction for pass-through businesses, with some limitations. If a business owner's income exceeds a certain threshold ($383,900 for joint filers and $191,950 for other filers in 2024), the benefit of the 20% deduction may be limited based on the amount of wages paid to non-owner employees (W-2 wages). Generally speaking, the more W-2 wages a business pays, the greater the deduction that business’s owner(s) can claim. According to data obtained by the US Chamber, Rhode Island's percentage of employment at pass-through businesses is 53.82%. Rhode Island's percentage of employment at large pass-through businesses (over 100 employees) is 30.2%. The collective tax benefit of this deduction in Rhode Island is $486,454,000. The US Chamber is asking all businesses to contact members of the Congressional delegation and ask them to enact the “Main Street Tax Certainty Act,” which would make the 20% pass-through deduction permanent. RI Office of Energy Resources Announces Programs for Commercial Buildings Net Metering The net-metering program is one of two solar programs available to homeowners and businesses interested in going solar. Customers can choose to have a net-metered system, OR an REG system (see below), but not both. The decision is binding for the lifetime of the contract. Net-metering is a mechanism for crediting the power produced by renewable energy systems installed behind a customer meter. Net-metering allows customers with eligible renewable energy systems to receive bill credits for all power generated up to 125 percent of the on-site consumption during a billing period. To participate in net metering, a renewable energy system must be sited on the customer’s premises. Eligible customer-sited net metering systems must be sized to meet on-site loads, based on a three-year average of electricity consumption at the property. For more information on net-metering, visit: https://energy.ri.gov/renewable-energy/wind/net-metering Renewable Energy Fund (REF) Commercial Scale Solar Program Business’s, nonprofits, academic institutions, municipal/state buildings or other large facilities are eligible for the Commercial Scale solar program. The grant payment will go to whoever the applicant or grantee of the project is. Your selected solar installer will apply to the REF on your behalf. This grant is available for Net-Metered systems only. After the solar PV system is installed, the grant will go directly to the installer after the completion paperwork is processed and a quality assurance evaluation of the system is complete. If using the REF Small Scale program, make sure the turnkey contract with your installer clearly shows how much the grant is for and includes a clause with an option for cancellation in case the grant program becomes fully subscribed. This is a popular program with a limited annual amount of funding. · Funding: Commercial Scale: Starts at $.70/watt and progressively goes down as the size increases (see a checklist for full incentive calculator $400,000 cap · Energy storage Adder Incentive: $.50/watt, max $40,000 per project · Round 24-1 Commercial Scale: Friday, March 1, 2024; 9am Flyer Solar Installers can access the application using the following link: https://commerceri.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/REF-Commercial-Scale-Application-10.15.21.pdf Renewable Energy Growth Program The Renewable Energy Growth (REG) Program, administered by Rhode Island Energy, supports the development of distributed generation projects in Rhode Island. The program enables customers to sell their generation output under long-term tariffs at fixed prices. Participants sign a 20-year long-term contract with a fixed electricity price and a Production-Based Incentive (PBI) payment. Participants receive bill credits on their electricity bill up to the amount owed, and any excess generation is compensated to the customer in the form of a direct deposit. You must be an RI Energy customer to use this program. Eligible technologies include wind, solar, small-scale hydropower, and anaerobic digestion. To learn more about this program, please visit https://energy.ri.gov/renewable-energy/wind/renewable-energy-growth-program-reg-program. You can learn more about the 2022 REG program by visiting https://ngus.force.com/servlet/servlet.FileDownload?file=0156T00000FLwcH. Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) is a financing program that allows commercial property owners to repay the costs of energy efficiency or renewable energy projects in conjunction with their property tax payments. Municipalities must opt-in to C-PACE in order to participate. The list of participating communities can be found here: https://riib.org/solutions/programs/commercial-property-assessed-clean-energy/ The following new bills have been filed: Senate Bill No. 2268 Lawson, Lauria, DiMario, Euer, Zurier, Cano, Kallman, Murray, Mack, Bissaillon, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- GROCERY STORES (Requires grocery stores to specifically limit the number of self-service checkout units to six (6) units per location. The consumer protection unit of the department of attorney general would have authority to enforce these restrictions.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2268.pdf Senate Bill No. 2273 Euer, LaMountain, Burke, Bissaillon, DiMario, Gallo, Lawson, Cano, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES (Requires businesses that offer automatic subscription renewals/continuous service offers to provide consumers with notice to the consumer prior to their engagement in the contract along with notice of renewal of subscription/cancellation info. eff. 1/1/25) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2273.pdf Senate Bill No. 2276 Tikoian, Raptakis, Quezada, Ciccone, Murray, F. Lombardi, Britto, Burke, Rogers, Felag, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- VEHICLE BARRIERS-THE CHARLOTTE A. VACCA ACT (Requires commercial property owners to install vehicle barriers at their retail establishment locations when construction/renovations are being done and permits insurers to consider the installation to provide a discount on the owner's insurance policy.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2276.pdf Senate Bill No. 2279 Zurier, Acosta, Britto, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- CONSUMER CHECKING ACCOUNTS (Establishes Rhode Island consumer checking accounts to insure the availability of low-cost, low-volume basic checking services for citizens of the state.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2279.pdf Senate Bill No. 2282 Bissaillon, Ciccone, Cano, Gallo, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CURRICULUM (Establishes "workplace readiness week". It requires all public high schools, including charter schools, to annually observe that week by providing information to students on their rights as workers and specifies the topics that must be covered.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2282.pdf Senate Bill No. 2292 Mack, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE GREEN JUSTICE ZONE ACT (Establishes the first Green Justice Zone, a model that may be replicated in future years to ensure that all communities throughout the state have clean air and clean water.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2292.pdf Senate Bill No. 2347 Euer, Acosta, Bissaillon, Mack, DiMario, Zurier, Gu, Murray, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX ON GAINS FROM THE SALE OR EXCHANGE OF REAL PROPERTY (Creates new tax on gains from sale or exchange of real property held for short periods of time, 6 years or less, establishes a comprehensive framework to calculate and implement enforcement and provides imprisonment and/or fines for those who evade taxes.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2347.pdf Senate Bill No. 2350 Tikoian, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Exempts from taxation real and tangible personal property classified as industrial and would extend the exemption period from ten (10) years to twenty (20) years.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2350.pdf Senate Bill No. 2355 Murray, Lawson, Euer, Cano, Ciccone, Britto, Acosta, Gu, Mack, Bissaillon, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Creates an additional Rhode Island personal income surtax of 3% on taxable income over $1,000,000, with the existing three-bracket personal income tax structure remaining in place.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2355.pdf Senate Bill No. 2366 Sosnowski, Euer, Miller, Ujifusa, Acosta, DiPalma, Kallman, Britto, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- DUTIES OF UTILITIES AND CARRIERS (Creates an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2366.pdf Senate Bill No. 2467 Cano, Lawson, Acosta, Mack, Britto, Bell, Valverde, Miller, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND PARENTAL AND FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (Increases the amount of parental or family leave available to an employee from thirteen (13) weeks to twenty-four (24) weeks in any two (2) calendar years.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2467.pdf Senate Bill No. 2475 Ciccone, Burke, Britto, F. Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Sets the minimum wage for 2025 at seventeen dollars ($17.00) per hour and for 2026 at twenty dollars ($20.00) per hour.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2475.pdf Senate Bill No. 2477 Ciccone, Acosta, F. Lombardi, Britto, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES -- FREQUENCY OF PAYMENT (Eliminate all exceptions to the provision that all employees are to be paid weekly except for employees of the state and its political subdivisions, municipal governments, and non-profit organizations with less than twenty-five (25) employees.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2477.pdf House Bill No. 7607 Nardone, Place, Shallcross Smith, Quattrocchi, Rea, Roberts, Cortvriend, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- SMALL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE AVAILABILITY ACT (Amends the definition of "small employer" for purposes of the small employer health insurance availability act to mean a business employing less than one hundred (100) employees rather than fifty (50) employees.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7607.pdf House Bill No. 7617 Kislak, Cortvriend, Fogarty, Carson, Speakman, McEntee, Spears, Morales, McGaw, Felix, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING DECARBONIZATION ACT OF 2024 (Establishes a program for the energy and water benchmarking of large buildings in Rhode Island and a standard for their energy performance.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7617.pdf House Bill No. 7650 Morales, Slater, DeSimone, McGaw, Henries, Handy, Fogarty, Bennett, Stewart, McNamara, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES -- EXTREME TEMPERATURE EMPLOYEE PROTECTION (Directs employers to take certain actions to protect their employees who are exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures and failure to implement or perform any of those actions would be an unlawful employment practice.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7650.pdf House Bill No. 7660 Costantino, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Exempts from taxation real and tangible personal property classified as industrial and would extend the exemption period from ten (10) years to twenty (20) years.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7660.pdf
0 Comments
Small Business Administration Announces Further Action to Help PPP and COVID EIDL BorrowersSBA Introduces 60-Day Goodwill Exception Period, Expands Hardship Accommodation Plans
Published on January 5, 2024WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced expanded flexibility and accommodations for COVID EIDL and PPP borrowers to help bring them into compliance and avoid the repercussions of defaulting on a government loan. For COVID EIDL and PPP borrowers with loans under $100,000, the SBA has implemented a 60-day goodwill exception period starting January 1 and lasting through March 3, 2024. During this period, the SBA will build on its extensive outreach to affected businesses to ensure that PPP borrowers know how to apply for forgiveness and COVID EIDL borrowers are aware of all repayment options — including the opportunity for hardship repayment plans. Further, the SBA will refrain from escalating collections activities until after the goodwill exemption period. Small business borrowers in delinquency or default who take action and obtain good standing with the SBA will improve their long-term financial health substantially. The benefits of getting, and staying, current on SBA loans include better credit scores, which make it cheaper and easier to buy a home or car in the future; eligibility for future government financial assistance, like a VA loan or help after a natural disaster; and, in some cases, avoidance of federal and private collections activities which can include withholding tax returns and wage garnishment. For PPP Borrowers: Hundreds of thousands of PPP borrowers can avoid default and the repercussions that come along with it without repaying the loan. Those who have met the payroll requirements can simply complete the PPP forgiveness application, which takes most borrowers less than 15 minutes. If PPP borrowers are unsure if their loan has been forgiven, they can check by logging in to the MySBA loan portal. Once logged in, borrowers will see all of their SBA loans, including PPP loans, and the status of each loan. For PPP loans, the status will show “paid in full” if the PPP loan has been forgiven. PPP borrowers who are not sure if their loan has been forgiven and see other statuses should apply for forgiveness immediately. See the SBA website for instructions on how to apply for PPP forgiveness. Borrowers who need assistance with forgiveness can contact SBA at our dedicated forgiveness call center: 877-552-2692. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET. For COVID EIDL Borrowers: All COVID EIDL borrowers must repay their loans, but the SBA has programs to help – including expanded hardship accommodation plans. COVID EIDL hardship accommodation plans significantly lower monthly payments – sometimes as low as $25 per month – for six months, and then payments gradually increase over a multi-year period. More information for COVID EIDL hardship accommodation plans is available on the SBA website. Many borrowers can apply for a hardship accommodation plan directly through the MySBA loan portal. Once logged in, COVID EIDL borrowers can click “Loan Summaries” in the toolbar, then “Hardship Accommodation Plan” in the bottom right corner, and finally “Learn More and Enroll.” For further assistance, please contact COVID-19 EIDL Customer Service at 833-853-5638 (TTY:711), email COVIDEIDLServicing@sba.gov, or send a message through the MySBA Loan Portal. COVID-19 EIDL Customer Service is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET. For All Borrowers The SBA offers free or low-cost counseling for small businesses through its national network of Resource Partners. These partner organizations may be able to help small businesses fit loan repayments into their budgets, provide information on applicable tax benefits, and offer other counseling services. Contact your local District Office for assistance with locating a Resource Partner to address your needs or search to see what is available in your area. The SBA remains committed to its core mission of supporting America’s small businesses and will make a significant effort to bring borrowers back into compliance before escalating collection activities. For more information about SBA’s loan programs, financial assistance, and other services, visit sba.gov. ### About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov. Related programs: Disaster, PPP Last Week At the State House
|
leadingladies_ratecard_2024.pdf | |
File Size: | 5605 kb |
File Type: |
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
November 2022
September 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
September 2021
August 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
October 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
All
Chamber News & Updates
Meet Our Members
Member News & Press Releases
Ribbon Cuttings
Under The Dome