Page 34 - BusinessWest April 14, 2021

Estate & Tax Planning
Crunching
the Numbers
A Breakdown of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was passed by the U.S. Congress by the narrowest of partisan margins, but its impact promises to be broad, for individuals and businesses alike. Following is a breakdown of how the act, signed into law by President Biden last month, affects everything from unemployment benefits to tax credits to employee retention.
O
By Jim Moran, CPA, MST
n March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP). Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package
is aimed at stabilizing the economy, providing needed relief to individuals, small businesses, and improving and accelerating the
administration of coronavirus vaccines and testing.
The relief package, which is Biden’s first major legislative initiative, is one of the largest in U.S. history and follows on the heels of the Trump administration’s $900 billion COVID relief package enacted in December 2020 (Consolidated Appropria- tions Act of 2021).
The most significant measures included in the ARP are the following:
• A third round of stimulus payments to individuals and their dependents;
• Extension of enhanced supplemental federal unemployment benefits through
September 2021;
• Expansion of the child tax credit and child and dependent care credit;
• Extension of the Employee Retention Credit (ERC);
• $7.25 billion in aid to small businesses, including Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP) loans;
• Increased federal subsidies for COBRA coverage;
• More than $360 billion in aid directed to states, cities, U.S. territories, and tribal
governments (the Senate added $10 billion for critical infrastructure, including broadband internet, and $8.5 billion for rural hospitals);
34 APRIL 14, 2021
ESTATE & TAX PLANNING
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