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AGC of America provides construction industry analysis of Federal COVID-relief package
29
Dec
Dec
AGC of America, which was heavily engaged in developing and fighting for key industry provisions of the Federal COVID-Relief Package approved by Congress and now signed by the President, has provided a detailed analysis of the sweeping legislation for the construction industry.
Significant AGC Victories for Construction Markets, Construction Firms & the Construction Workforce:
- Blocking a surprise federal tax increase of up to 37 percent on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness by overturning the IRS position barring deductions for PPP loan-forgiven business expenses;
- Enabling eligible contractors to claim tax credits up to $14,000 per employee through an extension of the Employee Retention Tax Credit into 2021;
- Securing $46 billion for the federal-aid highway and transit programs to help ensure ongoing and planned highway and transit construction projects move forward through at least September 30, 2021;
- Providing $10 billion for state departments of transportation to help mitigate the impacts of transportation revenue losses on bid letting delays and project cancellations;
- Ensuring that some of the $82 billion for public and private K-12 schools and higher education in COVID-relief is eligible for construction/renovation projects related to pandemic needs;
- Obtaining $25 billion in tax incentives for community buildings development through the extension of the New Markets Tax Credit for five years;
- Expanding tax credits for constructing more than 550,000 multifamily housing units via the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit;
- Securing nearly $3 billion for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure investment;
- Landing upwards of $3.3 billion for broadband installation and removal construction activities; and
- Guaranteeing the investment of an additional $10 billion towards harbor maintenance dredging;
For the full analysis, click here.AGC NYS is working on developing a webinar early in the New Year to examine the extension of and changes to the PPP Program, as well as the expansion of the Employee Retention Tax Credit and new eligibility of firms that received PPP loans for that credit. Both could have significant implications for construction firms. Stay tuned for more details as the webinar is finalized.As this challenging year draws to a close, I’d also like to wish all of our members, their teams and their families the best for 2021. The whole AGC NYS staff has considered it a privilege to serve and assist our members during these unprecedented times and continue to be available whenever you need us. Here’s to a better year!
