The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said the Treasury Department “missed the mark” in new guidance that limits tax breaks for businesses that get their Paycheck Protection Program loans forgiven.
In a joint statement Thursday, Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley and Democrat Ron Wyden said the Treasury is depriving some small businesses of much-needed economic relief by forcing them to choose between getting their PPP loans forgiven or claiming write-offs on expenses they covered with the loan money. The IRS published guidance on the issue Wednesday.
“Regrettably, Treasury has now doubled down on its position in new guidance that increases the tax burden on small businesses by accelerating their tax liability, all at a time when many businesses continue to struggle and some are again beginning to close,” Grassley and Wyden said.
The congressional reaction to the guidance puts additional pressure on the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service to allow taxpayers to claim the expense deductions. Grassley and Wyden encouraged the IRS to reverse its position.
The lawmakers said they are working to include language in year-end legislation clarifying that taxpayers qualify for expense deductions even if their loans are forgiven. That could be included in government spending legislation that Congress must pass by Dec. 11 before federal funding runs out.
Chris Moran, a tax attorney for law firm Venable LLP, said, “the IRS guidance seems to be inconsistent with congressional intent” in the CARES Act, which created PPP loans for businesses struggling from the pandemic. The law stated that the forgiven loan won’t be taxed, but didn’t specify whether companies could still write off the expenses they covered with that money.
Denise Clayton Delahanty has been a partner with Accountabilty Plus LLC for four years focusing on the people side of A&A work. Prior to working for A+, she was a principal at Gallup where she helped organizations engage their employees and customers. Clayton Delahanty's management consulting over 30-plus years helps organizations align what they say to the outside with what they are set up to deliver with the inside. She holds an MBA from Cornell University.
The Internal Revenue Service has asked all of its employees to work from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jim Marous is an internationally recognized financial industry strategist, speaker, author and the publisher of both the Retail Banking Strategies section of The Financial Brand and the Digital Banking Report. He works with financial institutions worldwide on using customer insight and data to drive results. This includes developing innovative, multichannel solutions for acquisition, engagement, expanding share of wallet and retention. He has helped to successfully launch new products and services as well as build and reinforce existing products and brands. Jim has presented at several SourceMedia conferences in the past, has recently spoken in London, Sydney and Slovakia on innovation in banking and is a regular contributor and recent guest host for the Breaking Banks�broadcast hosted by Brett King.He can be followed on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Excluding the forgiven loan from tax “is essentially meaningless if the expenses funded by the loan are nondeductible,” Moran said.
Still, many taxpayers aren’t expecting to get permission to claim the deductions, from the IRS or Congress, in the short term.
“I think most of them are, at least for now, resigned” to not getting the write-offs, Joe Kristan, a partner at the accounting firm Eide Bailly LLP in Des Moines, Iowa. “They’d certainly like to be allowed by Congress to step in and allow their deductions, but they’re not counting on it.”