Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP Accepted into Forbes Business Council. Marty McCarthy, CPA, CCIFP, and managing partner of McCarthy & Company, PC, a proactive CPA firm and a leading provider of COVID-19 recovery services, has been accepted into the Forbes Business Council, the foremost growth and networking organization for successful business owners and leaders worldwide. McCarthy was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors. Read more.

(Tax Foundation) State corporate income tax rates and brackets for 2021. New Jersey levies the highest top statutory corporate tax rate at 11.5%, followed by Pennsylvania (9.99%) and Iowa and Minnesota (both at 9.8%). Two other states (Alaska and Illinois) impose rates greater than 9%. Learn more.

(Tax Foundation) Summary of the latest federal income tax data, 2021 update. The IRS has released data on individual income taxes for tax year 2018, showing the number of taxpayers, adjusted gross income, and income tax shares by income percentiles. The new data shows how taxes changed in the first tax year after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in December 2017. Read more.

(IRS.gov) IRS offers guidance to taxpayers on identity theft involving unemployment benefits. The Internal Revenue Service has alerted tax practitioners that scammers are filing fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation from individuals who have not actually filed claims. Learn more.

(AccountingWEB) How struggling businesses can keep their customers. While the restrictions put into place to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic were implemented for a good reason, many businesses have unfortunately suffered from the lack of customers. While some industries were affected far more than others, many of business owners are likely worried right now. Here are 10 suggestions to help them keep their customers. Learn more.

(Associated Press) The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects 4.6% growth in Biden’s first year, jobs lag. The U.S. economy is projected to grow at a robust 4.6% annual rate this year, but employment is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024. Read more.

(CFO) Labor cost index rises 0.7% in fourth quarter. The Labor Department reported that the employment cost index (ECI) increased 0.7% in the last three months of 2020 after gaining 0.5% in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the ECI climbing 0.5% in Q4. The index measures pay changes for workers who keep their jobs. Over the past 12 months, it rose 2.5% from 2.4% in the third quarter. Before the coronavirus pandemic, it grew at a 2.8% rate year over year. Read more.

(Entrepreneur) 4 Essentials for Employee Engagement in a Remote World. The signs were there years ago. A 2017 Gallup World Poll showed that only 15 percent of employees worldwide felt engaged at work. Employers were, oftentimes, failing to deliver what millennials and Gen Zers wanted from a work environment. It is all too easy to blame problems with employee engagement as being an inevitable result of the pandemic, but that is an oversimplification. Learn what you can do,

(Harvard Business Review) Good leaders ask good questions. Especially when they find themselves in the midst of crisis and uncertainty, leaders should ask powerful and inspiring questions. Asking questions well can put you on the path to solving intractable problems and will also help you connect with others and, counterintuitively, to earn their trust. Those questions should be big in scope: What new opportunities have emerged that we do not want to miss? How might we use new technologies to change our business model? And you should involve others in answering those questions —employees, stakeholders, and even customers. Doing so can not only help you generate better answers, but it can also help you to change your organization’s culture. Learn why.

(SmallBizAhead) 8 crisis management strategies to keep your business strong. Running a small business is challenging. But now, these challenges have multiplied thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. So, how can you keep your business afloat over the next few months until this is behind us? Here are eight crisis management strategies you can use to keep your business strong. Read more.

(Builder) Softwood lumber prices increase 12.5% in December to cap volatile 2020. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said softwood lumber prices in 2020 were roughly four times as volatile as during the recessionary years of 2008 and 2009. Read more.

 

(Construction Dive) The Future of Construction Loans in a Post-Pandemic World. Like most businesses, commercial real estate developers and lenders were significantly affected by the worldwide COVID-19 impact in 2020, which had a direct impact on the ability for construction projects to move forward. As we all look ahead to moving past the pandemic and as roadblocks that slowed down projects are removed in the coming months, we can expect banks and developers to be eager to start building again, although certain types of projects may be more attractive than others due to the pandemic. Read more.

(Business.NJ.Gov) What workplace health and safety standards must my business follow to be open? Every business, non-profit, governmental, and educational entity that requires or permits its workforce to be physically present at a worksite must abide by the standardized operational requirements outlined in Executive Order 192 and the Health & Safety Standards for All Employers. Learn more.

(CDC.gov) COVID-19 vaccine communication toolkit for essential workers. In some states, essential workers already have access to vaccines to help protect them against COVID-19. These vaccines will be available to essential workers across the nation soon. CDC has provided a toolkit to help employers educate their essential workers about this important new prevention tool. Access the toolkit.

(City of Philadelphia Department of Revenue) Philadelphia’s treatment of certain business tax provisions as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Addresses forgiveness of indebtedness on a loan, deductions for covered expenses associated with PPP loans, tax on gross receipts, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): Net Profits Tax (NPT), Federal Employee Retention Credit (ERC), modification of limitation on Business Interest Expense, and technical amendments regarding Qualified Improvement Property (QIP) under IRC Section 168 (CARES Act Section 2307). Read more.  

(IRS.gov) Educators can now deduct out-of-pocket expenses for COVID-19 protective items. Eligible educators can deduct unreimbursed expenses for COVID-19 protective items to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom. Learn more.

(Office of Governor Wolf) Governor Wolf signs bill to support Pennsylvania businesses, help renters stay in their homes. Senate Bill 109 allocates $145 million that Governor Wolf made available to help support businesses suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Senate Bill 109 also appropriates desperately needed funding for rental and utility assistance to Pennsylvania residents to keep them in their homes. Learn more.

(Philadelphia Business Journal) SBA relaunches cash grant program for these types of small businesses. Starting Feb. 1, the SBA has begun to reach out to businesses to apply for what it is now calling its Targeted EIDL Advance program. Read more.

(Philadelphia Business Journal) Philadelphia’s reliance on wage tax exposed by pandemic. The wage tax for non-Philadelphia residents is 3.5%. For Philadelphia, that move by many suburbanites to work at home has come at a cost of tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue and exposed the city’s vulnerability from depending on wage and business taxes to fund 45% of its annual budget. Read more.

(New Jersey Treasury) New Jersey earned income tax credit (NJEITC). It is a cash-back tax credit that puts money back into the pockets of working families and individuals, including the self-employed, who earn low- to moderate-income. For tax year 2020 eligible NJ residents will receive 40% of the federal EITC. This latest increase will put an average of $882 back into taxpayers’ pockets. Learn more.

(SBA.gov) SBA issues FAQs for shuttered venue operators grants. The Shuttered Venue Operators (SVO) Grant program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, signed into law on December 27, 2020. The program includes $15 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Eligible applicants may qualify for SVO Grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees. Learn more.

We will continue to keep you updated. Please visit our COVID-19 Resource Page for more alerts. Learn about our COVID-19 Recovery Services.

Feel free to contact any member of our team at (610) 828-1900 (PA) or (732) 341-3893 (NJ) with questions. Rich Higgins, CPA, managing principal – New Jersey office can be contacted at Richard.Higgins@MCC-CPAs.com. I can be reached at Marty.McCarthy@MCC-CPAs.com. As always, we are happy to help.