U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Patty Murray (D-WA) recently introduced the Restaurant Revitalization Tax Credit Act, which seeks to create a special tax credit available to restaurants.
The legislation would assist businesses that applied for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program but were unable to receive a grant because the program ran out of funding.
“The Restaurant Revitalization Fund was an essential part of the federal government’s COVID-19 response, but unfortunately, those restaurants that did not get help from SBA are still hurting,” said Cardin, chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee. “I’ve heard from many owners who, having missed out on RRF, have had to draw down on their personal retirement savings or put their homes up as collateral to keep their businesses afloat. While the pandemic has receded for many Americans, and we have made great strides to regain a sense of normalcy, this is not the case for small restaurant and bar owners still struggling to repay debt accrued during the last two years while facing increasing labor and supply costs. This tax credit will help ease their burden.”
The tax credit is available to eligible employers to offset payroll taxes of up to $25,000 per quarter in the calendar year 2023. For businesses with 10 or fewer employees, the credit is refundable up to a total of $25,000 over the course of the year, with the cap on refundability gradually phased out for businesses with fewer than 20 employees.