Reinstating ERC Is Necessary to Small Businesses, Groups Say 

January 19, 2022

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden
President of the United States
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

RE: Support Passage of the Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act (H.R.6161)

Dear President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy, and Leader McConnell:

The undersigned organizations represent a variety of charitable nonprofits and trade associations whose small business members and their employees have been acutely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and urge your immediate action on reinstatement of the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC).

Over the last two years, Congress enacted several support programs for struggling businesses and nonprofits, but as we enter the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, certain industries' revenues remain at a mere fraction of their pre-pandemic levels. Each new coronavirus variant brings new restrictions affecting the small businesses our members own and operate, as well as charitable organizations throughout the country. Further worsening this problem was the cancellation of the Employee Retention Tax Credit for the fourth quarter of 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58).

As you know, Congress initially created the ERTC as part of the CARES Act to encourage businesses and nonprofits to keep employees on the payroll through 2020. This program was expanded by providing a refundable tax credit of up to $7,000 per employee per quarter and extended through 2021 in subsequent legislation to promote retention of staff and encourage the rehiring of workers that employers may have let go at the start of the pandemic.

With most recipients having long since expended their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, if available to them at all, the employers and members we represent were counting on the ERTC as one of the few financial support programs during the pandemic that enabled America's employers to keep employees on the payroll. Many small businesses and charitable nonprofits continued to take the tax credit into the fourth quarter, which started six weeks before the infrastructure bill was signed into law, and now face a retroactive tax increase and a complex, disruptive process of reconciling the credit that they will now have to forfeit.

Just as businesses began resuming operations, new variants caused an increase in cases throughout the nation, compounding business disruptions and prolonging recovery. Ending the ERTC early — amid an extraordinarily challenging business environment — froze the process of rehiring furloughed employees, caused employers to consider additional layoffs, and made it impossible for small employers to forecast financial solvency into the new year.

On behalf of the small businesses and organizations we represent, the employees who rely on them for their livelihoods, and the communities we serve, we urge you to restore the ERTC through the end of the year, as laid out in the recently introduced Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act (H.R. 6161). This bipartisan piece of legislation currently boasts nearly 40 bipartisan cosponsors and over 50 endorsing organizations.

Thank you for your consideration on this important matter. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please contact Robert Jackson with the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) at rjackson@namanow.org.

Sincerely,

Agudath Israel of America

American Alliance of Museums

American Heart Association

American Hotel and Lodging Association

American Rental Association

American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA)

Americans for the Arts

Associated Builders and Contractors

Association of Art Museum Directors

Boys and Girls Club of America

Catholic Charities USA

Council on Foundations

Dance/USA

Drycleaning & Laundry Institute

ETS

Faith & Giving

Girl Scouts of the USA

Goodwill Industries International, Inc.

Habitat for Humanity International

Hotel Association of New York City

IAAPA, The Global Association for the Attractions Industry

IHRSA, The Global Health & Fitness Association

Independent Sector

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions

International Franchise Association

International Inbound Travel Association

JCC Association of North America

Jewish Federations of North America

KaBOOM!

League of American Orchestras

Live Events Coalition

Lutheran Services in America

Meals on Wheels America

Mental Health America

National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA)

National Community Action Partnership

National Council of Nonprofits

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

National Restaurant Association

National Tour Association

Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies

OPERA America

Outdoor Amusement Business Association

Social Current

The Payroll Group

Theatre Communications Group

United States Tour Operators Association

United Way Worldwide

Volunteers of America

YMCA of the USA

YWCA USA