Panelists urge inclusion focus in American Rescue Plan finance-commerce.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from finance-commerce.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Crain s editorial: Spend wisely
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The past year has been rough, but with the federal government s help, it has not been as brutal on state and local governments finances as originally feared. No one who works on a municipal budget feels relaxed, but the doomsday scenario of plummeting tax receipts and massive service cuts hasn t materialized.
Now, with the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, city and state governments are in line to receive billions to assist in the rebuild from the pandemic s economic damage. The money is allocated under the Community Development Block Grant formula, which means cities like Cleveland, with relatively higher levels of poverty and older housing stock, benefit more than other places. Cleveland will receive an estimated $541 million over two years, the most of any Ohio city. Akron is set to get about $153 million.
Over the weekend, the General Assembly approved legislation to allow businesses across the commonwealth to deduct up to $100,000 of forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans from their state taxes.
While that will certainly come as welcome news for businesses that received PPP money in the state, it could deepen the inequities already faced by Virginia’s Black-owned businesses.
Businesses across the country struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset and the resulting lockdowns, forcing the federal government to step in, guaranteeing loans to help companies cover expenses such as payroll. In Virginia, the federal government backed nearly 130,000 loans, doling out over $14 billion dollars in the state.
Virginia Doubles-Down on PPP, Potentially Harming Black-Owned Businesses vpm.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vpm.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.