HEALS Act Comparison to HEROES Act and Current Law
On Monday, July 27, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability and Schools (HEALS) Act—a $1 trillion stimulus package in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to our initial...
Family Business Report Presented to BNY Mellon Wealth Management Group
The 2020 Family Business Report was presented to BNY Mellon Wealth Management’s National Private Business Advisory practice group, which consists of over 100 advisors across the organization who specialize in advising private business owners and their advisors through...
Survey of Family Enterprises Reveals COVID-19 Is Still a Big Concern
A recent survey, the 2020 Family Enterprise USA Family Business Survey of family businesses (conducted between late and January and mid-April of this year), found that they’re remaining somewhat optimistic about their future despite an unprecedented first quarter due...
When cupcakes met COVID: How one family business pivoted to sweet success
Inspiration had struck, and Melissa Johnson was going with it. “As I’ve grown older, I can’t say I’ve necessarily grown wiser. I know there is a whole lot I don’t know,” she wrote in a Facebook post one recent Friday. “The only thing I know for sure is that an act of...
Business is ‘popping’ during the pandemic for fifth-generation popcorn company
As soon as people nationwide began staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they began watching movies. And then, they started popping popcorn. That has been a bright spot amid the pandemic for JOLLY TIME Pop Corn, a century-old family business based in Sioux...
Trump Visits Guilford, Maine to Thank Puritan Employees
June 5, 2020 – President Trump visited Guilford, Maine today, and toured the Puritan Medical Products headquarters. During his remarks, the President championed his Administration’s use of the Defense Production Act to bolster American manufacturing capabilities and...
Mother-daughter team draws on ‘wealth of experience’ to help clients through uncertain times
With nearly three decades of financial advising behind her, Mary J. Howard knows a lot about helping others navigate uncertainty and plan for the future. Her daughter, Megan, is now learning the same alongside her as their team has been working closely with clients to...
Family business owners weigh in on taxes, regulation
Family Enterprise USA’s 2020 survey sheds light on factors that family business owners see as obstacles to growth. Legislators must know what is important to family business owners — what helps or hurts them when it comes to operating their businesses and creating...
State News – Illinois
Hawaii Taxes could rise on high-end real estate on the island of Hawaii Illinois The top Republicans in the Illinois legislature are pushing for a vote that would remove from the November ballot a measure that would allow for a progressive income...
COVID-19 & Capital Hill
The Senate has left for their Memorial Day district work period. When the upper chamber returns on June 1, it's likely to focus on clearing pending presidential nominations as House Democrats and Senate Republicans remain far apart on the next round of COVID-19...
Getting America Open Again
While the world is slowly starting to open up and move toward “normal,” it seems as if DC has already gotten there – politically at least. After passing four stimulus bills on a pretty bi-partisan basis – and racking up almost $3 trillion in spending – political...
The Virus Is Vaporizing Tax Revenues, Putting States in a Bind
The overwhelming news from the states is the financial impact COVID-19 is having on their bottom line…and precisely one article on why they shouldn’t be given or take a bailout from the feds! States should say 'no thanks' to a federal bailout "The Virus Is Vaporizing...
Congress Moved Quickly to Pass Costly Aid Package
If you're a regular reader of these updates, this week's will seem like Deja vu. Congress moved quickly to pass a costly aid package without regard to how it would be paid for, which the President signed immediately. The $484 billion relief package was initially...
How Did You Help During the Great Pandemic?
There's one word I typically avoid and usually cringe when it's used: unprecedented. Its inclusion is for dramatic effect, of course. And while it can technically be used to connote an event or item that is unique, atypical, or abnormal, for me, it really should be...
State News – Georgia Republicans
"Cities and states brace for economic 'reckoning,' eyeing major cuts and fearing federal coronavirus aid isn't enough," by WaPo's Tony Room: Many states and cities, which were already cash-strapped, are now in dire straits, facing plunging tax revenue and spiking...
Campaign Trail – Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders
Donald Trump President Trump on Friday renewed his calls for a broad payroll tax cut as part of a "phase four" coronavirus relief package to ease the economic pain caused by the pandemic. Joe Biden According to the latest delegate count, former VP Joe Biden is leading...
Stimulus Bills Were Focused On Government, Hospitals, And US Businesses
The ink was barely dry from signing the third and largest stimulus package in the history of our Country, and there was already talk of a fourth bill. The first three stimulus bills were mainly focused on addressing increased spending for the government, states, and...
State News – Ohio & New York
States brace for massive budget gaps in coronavirus recession State governments have spent a decade stockpiling billions of dollars in reserve funds for the next economic downturn, scarred by the steep cuts they were forced to make in the midst of the last recession....
Campaign Trail – Who Runs Against Donald Trump
Former Vice President Joe Biden built on his commanding lead for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination overwhelmingly beating Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Arizona, Florida, and Illinois primaries. With 1,991 delegates needed to clinch the nomination,...
Coronavirus Trillion Dollar Emergency Relief Bill
Congress has approved a 2 trillion dollar emergency relief bill, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and sent it to the White House, where it is expected to be promptly signed by President Trump. The bill includes hundreds of billions of...
DeFazio Wants Double Spending on the IRS
Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) wants to double spending on the IRS, which he believes would help collections and service soar. His new legislation would give the IRS an extra $11.8 billion annually for the next decade on top of existing funding, which amounts to...
Senate Passed The House’s Coronavirus Relief Bill
In this unprecedented and unsettling time, we wanted to continue to be a resource to you on tax implications that might impact you and your business. In that regard, there has been tremendous activity accomplished at lightning speed for Congress. The Senate passed the...
Capital Hill Visits With Representatives Reed, Schweikert, & Walberg
One of the things that sets PATG apart from other groups is how active we are in DC. While some groups might send letters or make the occasional visit, we are constantly on Capitol Hill. You'd be hard-pressed not to find a few of us walking the halls on any given day....
State News – Massachusetts: It’s A Minimum Tax
Illinois Illinois governor floats graduated state income tax that would replace flat tax. Massachusetts IT'S A MINIMUM TAX: Massachusetts lawmakers are seeking to update the state's corporate tax structure to funnel more money toward transportation, as MassLive...
Race To The White House – Joe Biden & Bernie Sanders
Joe Biden Biden put out a housing plan on Monday that would cost $640 billion over a decade, with the centerpiece being a $15,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. Campaign officials said the credit was meant to help increase wealth for minorities, and would be...
Campaign Trail – Donald Trump
Michael Bloomberg Bloomberg released his tax plan over the weekend, and it would introduce a number of tax increases that would likely result in the candidate himself paying higher taxes. Below, we'll go through the key parts of the new Bloomberg tax plan. The plan...
Full Death Tax Repeal Legislation
Full repeal legislation in both the House and Senate gained more support this week. In the Senate, newly appointed Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) came on board S 215 to bring the total number of supporters to 36. On the House side, Representatives Mike...
Democratic Delegate Selection
Does it already seem like the nomination race for the Democrats has been going on forever? While actual contests are finally underway, it may not be over anytime soon and it seems more likely we won’t know until the Democratic Convention in late July. Typically...
We Need Your Help – Family Businesses Survey
The 2020 Family Enterprise USA Family Businesses survey is here. To access the short, online survey, CLICK HERE. Family Enterprise USA is a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to educating lawmakers and growing public support for family businesses across America. Each...
State News – Idaho, Kentucky, & More
Idaho: State Rep. Jason Monks is proposing to kill off property taxes with a 5-percentage point increase in the sales tax — a move that would take the statewide rate all the way up to around 11 percent. "I call it a thought grenade; we threw it out there and wanted to...