Congress Approves COVID-19 Stimulus Package

Congress Approves COVID-19 Stimulus Package

Congress overwhelmingly passed the largest rescue package in American history to support the U.S. economy with approximately $2 trillion in aid in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 stimulus package contains direct payments to Americans, an aggressive expansion of unemployment insurance, billions in aid to large and small businesses, and a new wave of significant funding for the health care industry.

In case you didn’t have time to read the entire CARES Act, E. Cohen took the liberty of summarizing it here for you.

Let’s start with direct payments to Americans.

If you earn less than $75,000, or you and your spouse collectively make less than $150,000, you’ll get $1,200 for each of you plus $500 for each child under 17. Those amounts are reduced for people with higher incomes, and individuals with $99,000 in earnings (or $198,000 for a couple) get nothing, even if they have children. How much a citizen will receive is based on what you provided the IRS on your 2019 income tax filing. For those that have not filed yet, the IRS will use the data from your 2018 filing. Americans who don’t earn enough to be required to file a tax return can submit one to the IRS now to make sure the agency has accurate information on them. It is estimated this this part of the stimulus package will cost nearly $300 billion dollars.

So, where will the remaining $1.7 trillion go?

There are simply too many vital programs in this nearly $2 trillion stimulus package to list here. However, the following is a high-level summary:

• Expanded unemployment benefits that boost the maximum benefit by $600 per week and provide laid-off workers their full pay for four months. Eligibility is extended to independent contractors and the self-employed.
• $367 billion in loans for small businesses
• $150 billion for state and local governments
• $130 billion for hospitals
• $500 billion in loans for larger industries, including $25 billion for passenger airlines; $4 billion for carriers; $3 billion for aviation contractors and $17 billion for “businesses critical to maintaining national security.
• Creation of an oversight board and inspector general to oversee loans to large companies
• Measure prohibiting companies owned by President Trump and his family from receiving federal relief
• $25 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• $400 million for election security grants

You can read the entire law by clicking here. Clients are strongly advised to contact their E. Cohen advisor/preparer to learn more about this new law and how it might impact your business and/or personal financial situation.

Stephen White

Stephen White

Stephen White serves as E. Cohen’s Director of Firm Operations and Growth. He oversees all firm operations and leads marketing, client engagement, business development and strategic partnership activities. He is an accomplished executive with wide-ranging creative, strategic,
and management skills and is responsible for developing and executing on the firm’s overall growth objectives.

Prior to joining firm, Stephen served as Vice President of Practice Growth for a local defe

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