Category: Federal Page 1 of 14

The Internal Revenue Service has awarded new contracts to three private-sector collection agencies for the collection of overdue tax debts. The new contracts begin Thursday following September 22nd’s expiration of the old contracts.

Beginning Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, taxpayers with unpaid tax bills may be contacted by one of the following three agencies:

CBE Group, Inc.
PO Box 2217
Waterloo, IA 50704
800-910-5837

Coast Professional, Inc.
PO Box 526
Albion, NY 14411
888-928-0510

ConServe
PO Box 307
Fairport, NY 14450
844-853-4875

Notification by IRS and the private collection agencies
The IRS will always notify a taxpayer before transferring their account to a private collection agency (PCA).… Read More

The National Restaurant Association has taken an “all of the above” approach to federal recovery efforts. From the Paycheck Protection Program, the Employee Retention Tax Credit, to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund – they are focused on providing relief through every possible measure.

The National Restaurant Association has been actively engaged with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to improve the COVID Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to make it more usable for restaurants. Last week, the SBA unveiled a new expansion of the program – increasing the loan limit and improving the range of uses, all while retaining the same very low federal interest rate.… Read More

The Biden-Harris Administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare patients, and an additional $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic.

Consistent with the requirements included in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020, PRF Phase 4 payments will be based on providers’ lost revenues and expenditures between July 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.… Read More

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is launching a streamlined application portal to allow borrowers with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.

“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses — including many sole proprietors — who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic,” said Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “The vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. These entrepreneurs are busy running their businesses and are challenged by an overly complicated forgiveness process.… Read More

On March 11, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 created the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund to provide grants for restaurants sustaining financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 17, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued the necessary federal rules, regulations, and a sample application to distribute the grant funds.

The SBA was able to process approximately 72,000 priority applications, totaling $18 billion. Following the priority period, the SBA distributed funding for an additional 28,000 restaurants from both priority and nonpriority groups, leaving approximately $1.1 billion in funds left, and will continue processing grants for nonpriority groups until the funding runs dry.… Read More