Cunningham Continues Fight for Lowcountry Small Businesses, Urges Leadership to Include Employee Retention Tax Credit in Upcoming Coronavirus Legislation

Bipartisan letter calls for reestablishment of tax provision to help small businesses retain workers and prevent painful layoffs

Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ­­– Rep. Joe Cunningham (SC-01) today continued his fight for Lowcountry small businesses and workers, joining a bipartisan group of lawmakers to urge House leadership to include language reestablishing the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) in upcoming coronavirus response legislation.

In the wake of natural disasters, Congress has repeatedly implemented versions of the ERTC to help spur economic growth. If included in the latest coronavirus stimulus bill, it would provide a temporary retention credit for businesses hit by the current health crisis that continue to pay wages to their employees despite being shuttered to protect the health and safety of their communities. 

“Many small businesses across the country, which are temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, want to do all they can to retain their dedicated employees,” the lawmakers wrote. “As we work on economic recovery packages, we must make sure our small businesses are well-positioned to emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever, including by making sure these businesses can support and retain their dedicated employees during this public health emergency."

Full text of the letter can be found online and below.

We write to you today regarding the impact that the Coronavirus outbreak has had on small businesses and workers across America. Employees and businesses from every sector of our economy are feeling the consequences, and Congress must continue to act to support our communities. 

Many small businesses across the country, which are temporarily shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak, want to do all they can to retain their dedicated employees. As we work on economic recovery packages, we must make sure our small businesses are well-positioned to emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever, including by making sure these businesses can support and retain their dedicated employees during this public health emergency.

That is why we respectfully ask that you include the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) in any upcoming economic recovery package. This credit, which has been implemented in previous disasters, would provide a temporary retention credit for businesses affected by coronavirus that continue to pay wages to their employees despite their businesses being shuttered. Implementing this tax credit is a critical aspect of our efforts to help workers whose employers want to do all they can to support and retain their employees despite the temporary closure of their business. The retention of small business employees will also save resources for our nation’s entrepreneurs, who will not be forced to start from scratch by recruiting and training new employees.

We thank you for your consideration of this request and look forward to working with you on an economic recovery package that puts the needs of our workers and small businesses first.