Providers’ Council President and CEO Michael Weekes and Massachusetts Nonprofit Network (MNN) CEO Jim Klocke sent a letter to Rep. Richard Neal on Wednesday urging him to support a recently filed bipartisan bill in the House that would temporarily reinstate the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) for employers subject to closure due to COVID-19.
To read the full letter, click here.
By signing his $1 trillion infrastructure deal into law on Nov. 15, President Biden retroactively terminated the ERTC program in the fourth quarter of 2021, which provided nonprofits and other employers refundable payroll tax credits for keeping staff employed.
The ERTC was created in March 2020 to encourage businesses to keep employees on payroll. It had been set to expire on Jan. 1, 2022, but the infrastructure bill accelerated the end of the credit retroactively to Oct. 1.
Weekes and Klocke told Neal that many nonprofits counted on fourth quarter access to the ERTC to support the financial commitments they made to retain workers on the payroll and assure adequate operating capacity to serve their communities.
“The ERTC has allowed nonprofits to retain staff and, with the extension through the fourth quarter enacted in the American Rescue Plan Act, enabled charitable organizations to plan ahead and reopen for the fall to address educational, cultural, and direct services needs,” they wrote. “Restoring the ERTC for the fourth quarter will be a helpful boost for nonprofits, and will help ensure that community-based organizations can continue to support their neighbors and contribute to the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.”
Weekes and Klocke sent a similar letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November, urging her to push for the restoration, extension and improvement of the ERTC in the Senate’s version of the Build Back Better Act.
The Providers’ Council and MNN collectively represent more than 800 nonprofits in the Commonwealth. Our members reflect the breadth of the Massachusetts nonprofit community, from arts and cultural organizations and environmental groups to faith-based charities, essential human service providers, and more.
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