THREAD: Looks like WH & Congress are properly considering #COVID19 impact on small businesses. They have 2 major costs: staffing & real estate. W/ consumers needing to stay home & little or no revenue coming in, paying employees & property bills quickly becomes unsustainable.
2. Employers need to continue paying their people even if they aren’t able to work due to #coronavirus. Here are a few relatively low-cost, high-impact things we can do to help small businesses & their employees be in the best position to recover...
3. Landlords should waive rent for small businesses that depend on consumers & be allowed to take 3 months of the loss on their 2019 tax returns. #CoronavirusOutbreak
4. Extend a personal rent & mortgage holiday of 3 months for anyone who can’t work b/c of #COVID19. Again landlords could take the loss on their 2019 tax returns. With interest rates at almost zero, lost revenue for banks facilitating the mortgage holiday would be minimal.
5. No business should be forced to close and no family should be forced out of its home because of the economic distress caused by #coronavirus.
6. Remove all import #tariffs & duties. The primary goal for any govt support right now must be to give consumers as much purchasing power as possible. Let’s not give with one hand and take with the other. #COVID2019
7. #IRS should immediately process tax refunds for 2019 when people file. Govt can also advance the 2020 Earned-Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit for hourly and freelance workers.
8. Those are just a few relief measures to help spur our recovery when it comes. Imagine a recovery period in which most small businesses have not survived & new businesses must be started. Long-term impact of that scenario would be far more devastating. #CoronavirusOutbreak
