ISSA joined a coalition of over 70 organizations representing a variety of trade associations and charitable nonprofits to commend U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Scott (R-SC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) for introducing the bipartisan Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act and urge swift passage of the legislation to restore 2021 fourth-quarter access to the credit.

Senate introduction comes on the heels of a letter sent by the coalition, including ISSA, imploring the Biden administration and Congress to restore the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC). The letter notes that the now-prolonged recovery has stalled rehiring and cast a veil of financial uncertainty for employers.

The Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act originated in the U.S. House of Representatives with Representatives Carol Miller (R-WV), Kevin Hern (R-OK), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) introducing H.R. 6161 in December 2021. This bill now has 54 bipartisan cosponsors.

Background

• The ERTC was included in the 2020 CARES Act, which was overwhelmingly supported by both political parties. The ERTC, along with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), helped to stabilize small businesses, including those in the cleaning industry, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The ERTC was designed to promote small businesses rehiring employees that businesses may have had to let go at the start of the pandemic or ensure that employees were retained while their companies recovered. While less well known than the PPP, the ERTC was one of the only remaining tools for businesses that continued to be impacted by the pandemic.
• The ERTC was scheduled to expire at the end of 2021, but the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in November 2021 disallowed this credit for the fourth quarter of 2021. Many small businesses continued to take the tax credit into the fourth quarter, and now face a retroactive tax increase and a complex, frustrating process in reconciling the credit that they will now have to forfeit.

Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act

The Employee Retention Tax Credit Reinstatement Act reinstates the ERTC through the end of 2021, as intended, to help struggling small businesses that were counting on the ERTC to pay their employees through the end of 2021.

“Many small businesses are still struggling to get back to normal,” said ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft. “The reinstatement of the ERTC will help the industries hit hardest by the pandemic to help retain and invest in their workforce. ISSA – The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association fully supports the reinstatement of this critical lifeline for small businesses struggling to cover their overhead during this difficult time.”

“Office products and furniture businesses have been through a lot the past two years,” said Mike Tucker, Executive Director of the Independent Office Products and Furniture Dealers Association (IOPFDA), a division of ISSA. “Our members have done everything they can to keep their employees. However, they are finding it harder and harder to keep their employees without additional help. IOPFDA cannot thank these senators enough for re-introducing ERTC legislation today. If it gets passed, our members can continue to operate and keep our employees in their jobs. If not, I’m not sure what happens next.”

Please take a moment to urge your congressional delegation to reinstatement the ERTC by visiting the ISSA Advocacy Action Center. To learn more about the ERTC, register for the 2022 ISSA Clean Advocacy Summit, March 30-31, in Washington, DC as part of National Cleaning Week. For questions regarding the ERTC, please contact ISSA Director of Government Affairs John Nothdurft or IOPFDA Executive Director Mike Tucker.