U.S. Congress Working On Third COVID-19 Bill

As of late Monday, March 23, lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate were continuing to work on a third COVID-19-related spending and relief bill. Based on reports, federal lawmakers are considering:

• Support for major industries, including the airline industry;
• Small business loans;
• Business tax provisions that could include deferred payments on estimated taxes and some payroll taxes, increased deductibility for interest expenses, and immediate expensing of qualified property improvements;
• Direct tax benefits or payments to individuals; and
• Sick leave and other labor provisions.

With more than 100 organizations, the Metals Service Center Institute last week sent a letter to the White House and leaders in Congress requesting that policymakers:

• Provide readily accessible, unsecured credit to businesses of all sizes to ensure they have the cash to pay their workers, rent, and other costs during this crisis.
• Suspend the filing of business returns and the payment of all business taxes to the federal government for the duration of the pandemic.
• Amend the Tax Code to, among other items, restore the ability of businesses to carryback any net operating losses against previous year tax payments; suspend the application of the Section 163(j) limitation on interest expense deductions for tax year 2020 to avoid penalizing businesses for borrowing during this crisis; and suspend the Section 461(l) loss limitation on pass-through businesses to allow the owners of pass-through businesses to fully deduct any losses they incur this year.