Post-PPP Taxes to Understand

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The Paycheck Protection Program loans were a top priority for most struggling businesses due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Although these loans were beneficial to small businesses, most business owners find it hard to understand the tax implications. Below is a comprehensive description of the Post-PPP tax obligations.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans

PPP loans were awarded to small business owners to prevent them from going out of business and to retain their employees. Under the PPP program, small and medium business owners received a loan of up to two-and-a-half times the average monthly payroll. This loan had a cup of about $10 million.

The PPP loan intent was to cover the payroll and other business expenses during the COVID 19 pandemic. If properly appropriated on the approved expenditure, these loans are forgivable. However, if not, repayment of the funds will attract low interest and extended repayment periods. Although these funds have been beneficial to most small businesses and their employees, confusion about the tax implications has arisen.

Tax Implications of The PPP loans

Will the businesses that received the Paycheck Protection Program loan have a different tax situation than the previous years? This question was the concern of most business owners. The possibility that the loans would get considered as the taxable expense was another confusing aspect of these funds.

Although the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was seen by many as a lifeline, experts warned that the legislation could become a tax-laden time bomb. In May 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-32. This notice declared that if PPP loans were not taxable. However, the expenses usually not considered as tax-deductible wouldn’t be deductible. These expenses include utilities and rent.

This declaration threatened to kneecap the most attractive part of the PPP loans. However, Congress came to the rescue when they passed the recent PPP funding through the (C.R.R.S.A.A) Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriation Act. This act reversed the decision of the IRS made on the Notice 2020-32.

The Congress act declared that any forgiven PPP loan would be tax-exempted income. Thanks to this clarification, business owners can now take a Paycheck Protection Program loan and still get the (ERTC) employee retention tax.

Online Streaming Services Usher In New Form Of Taxes

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The city of Chicago has recently announced that they will begin targeting online databases and streaming entertainment services with a new “cloud tax.” This new tax will affect users of online streaming service such as Netflix and Spotify.

The new tax is composed of two recent ruling made by the city of Chicago’s Department of Finance. The first, covers “electronically delivered amusements” and the second covers “nonpossessory computer leases.” These rulings are essentially extensions on existing laws to include an extra 9 percent tax on certain types of online services. It is assumed that first of these ruling will affect services such as Netflix and Spotify and the second will affect services such as Amazon Web Services or Lexis Nexis.

Consumers of such services should not worry just yet about increased payments, as Netflix has already begun making arrangements to add the tax to the cost charged to its Chicago customers. This means that while the tax is technically levied upon customers of these services, the companies are likely to actually carry the burden of the tax.

This new “cloud tax” is likely to be just the beginning and online streaming services recognize that they need to prepare for this to be a trend utilized by more areas across the country in the future. As these massive online streaming services have taken vast entertainment resources and moved them online, it has made it a challenge for cities that have previously relied on tax from the sale of these entertainment services at local businesses. The “cloud tax” is a move to fight back against the loss in tax revenue due to the online streaming services.

Many have already voiced their displeasure with this new tax. After the announcement was made, Michael Wynne argued that the tax violates the Federal Telecommunications Act and the Internet Tax Freedom Act, intended to prevent discrimination against services delivered over the internet. In his response, Wynne stated “I could do that same activity of research using books or periodicals without being tax, so it seems like I’m being picked on because I chose to do it online.”

This “cloud tax” is clearly a response by cash-strapped cities to the continuing loss of tax revenue from sales previously made in brick and mortar stores. Online services are swallowing up business that use to be conducted within the city but is now happening online. Before the rise of these services, people would consume entertainment at video rental outlets and music stores – which paid local property taxes along with municipal sales taxes – and now these entertainment outlets have become irrelevant with the birth of online services. The cities clearly are looking for a way to make up the difference in lost tax revenue, and the new “cloud tax” seems to be the prevailing option.

 

Crazy Taxes: 4 Crazy Tax Laws from Around the World

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Tax is complicated business, but at its heart it is a way for the government to generate more revenue. So, when a nation is strapped for cash (or just trying to get that extra bit of cash), some lawmakers have turned to some pretty wacky ideas. In no particular order here are four of the strangest tax laws known to man.

 

Bagel Tax

You read that right. In New York, the state taxes bagels that have been altered in anyway. The grounds from this comes from the fact that an extra tax is placed on food prepared on premises. So, you get that bagel cut, toasted, and filled with a nice spread? That’s about as prepared as you can get, and will cost you an extra .08¢.

Card Tax

No, not greeting cards. Alabama has been charging an extra dime on playing cards since 1935. Make no mistakes, Alabama legislators are serious about this tax, and require an official state revenue stamp on all playing card decks. It’s only limited to decks of up to 54 cards, though.

Window Tax

For this one, we need to take a trip across the pond– and back in time. In 1696, England introduced a tax on windows that lasted for over 150 years. While it seems odd on the surface, it was essentially a wealth tax. This was based on the idea that bigger houses had more windows, and that extra wealth could be a marginal source of revenue for the Crown. It was repealed after enough subjects complained it was a tax on light and air.

Beard Tax

Another gem from history. Back at the turn of the 17th century, Russian Emperor Peter the Great struggled to get his vast empire to conform to the beauty and fashion standards of western Europe. However, he noticed many mean were still attached to their beards. Not to be outdone, he cooked up a way to incentive Russian men to part with their whiskers. Excepting priests, all bearded Russians had to pay a then-hefty tax of 100 Rubles per year!