Now is not the time to try and trick small-business owners with a curveball.

Unless Congress acts quickly, the small business you own or work for could be getting a visit from The Grinch at the end of the year.

The CARES Act passed by Congress earlier in the year obviously intended for Paycheck Protection Program loan recipients to be able to deduct any and all expenses associated with those loans for tax purposes.

However, that message hasn’t been sufficiently communicated to the IRS and the Treasury Department, as they each have concluded that those loans will not be deducible from federal income taxes.

This would be devastating because first of all, that was not the intent of Congress and therefore businesses are not prepared for that burden, and secondly because we are still deeply entrenched in the financial crush from the pandemic.

Both the Senate and House have had bills introduced that would ensure that PPP recipients receive the full benefits as intended.

Of course, this also applies to many other organizations that were given a lifeline through the CARES Act. If the business or other organization that received the loan used it as directed and has filed for the forgiveness aspect of the program, granting them the intended deductibility should not be in question.

We urge our congressional representatives to act quickly in support of these measures and to guarantee the struggling businesses that they won’t be getting this lump of coal in their stocking and they can approach their 2021 business plan with assurance that Congress has their back.

— RV