The U.S. economy has lost 15 million jobs since February 2020 and the unemployment rate, while improving, stood at 11.1% for June 2020—a historically high level. Before the pandemic and the onset of the current recession, the unemployment rate was around 3.5%—a 50-year low.
Public and tax policy can facilitate workforce mobility, helping job hunters to become re-employed and employers to engage the talent needed for growth. Unfortunately, more recent legislation, such as the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, has actually made mobility more costly and less attractive, by eliminating popular tax provisions widely utilized by companies and relocating employees.
On July 10, Worldwide ERC® Government Affairs sent letters signed by President and CEO Lynn Shotwell to Congressional leaders advocating for additional workforce mobility relief in the next economic stimulus package. The leaders are currently discussing the scope and contents of the package. On behalf of the mobility industry, Worldwide ERC® asked that Congress:
- Clarify that small businesses that have loans forgiven under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) can still deduct covered expenses.
- Allocate additional funds and allow use of remaining funds in the PPP to small businesses that have experienced a sharp drop in revenue.
- Include a reinstatement of the moving expense deduction in the next economic stimulus package.
- Provide a balanced approach to help provide employers with liability protections as they reopen workplace and relocate employees.
According to Worldwide ERC®, this request highlights crucial needs and the important contributions of the workforce mobility industry in our economic recovery as we work to bring businesses and their employees safely back to work. Read more here.
