On June 26, 2020, twelve more counties in Pennsylvania (some of which were hit the hardest by COVID-19) will be moving into the “Green Phase” of Governor Tom Wolf’s process to reopen Pennsylvania. This means all counties, with the exception of Lebanon County, will be “Green.” The Green Phase is the third of three phases […]

As many business owners are well aware, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) rules and guidelines regarding loan forgiveness are complex and carry a high compliance burden. In order to obtain PPP loan forgiveness, borrowers are required to complete a rather complicated forgiveness application that is then reviewed by the borrower’s lender. In response to  comments […]

In a case regarding  business privilege tax, the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas found in favor of Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba (FLB) client Phoebe Services, Inc. and established on appeal that Phoebe Services, Inc. is not liable to the City of Allentown (the City) for the tax. In late 2019, FLB Shareholder and Chair […]

More than two months have passed since Governor Tom Wolf declared the closing of non-life-sustaining businesses. During these months of closure and stay-at-home, Governor Wolf introduced a phased reopening plan for Pennsylvania in which a three-phase approach (Red, Yellow and Green Phases) is used to determine when counties and/or regions are ready to begin opening […]

Following significant backlash from business owners, members of Congress, accountants, academics and others, yesterday, Congress passed H.R. 7010, otherwise known as the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, and is expected to be signed into law by the President, today, June 4, 2020.  H.R. 7010 is a bill that modifies the CARES Act in […]

As Pennsylvania re-opens for business, with all counties moving to the Yellow Phase by June 5 and some counties already in the Green Phase,  new guidance has been issued for businesses as they move through the phases, in addition to the Business & Building Safety Guidelines. For counties moving into green phase the following guidance […]

The impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt throughout the economy, with a collapse of demand in basically every consumer-facing industry, including restaurants, hotels, airlines, gas stations, and non-grocery retail stores. These problems flow through the economic food chain, with businesses unable to pay landlords. Many businesses have questions about how to handle payments to […]

  On May 21, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania signed into law Act 21 of 2020, which allows certain hotel and restaurant licensees to temporarily sell prepared beverages and mixed drinks to go, effective immediately. Entities Covered By Act 21 Hotel and restaurant licensees that have lost at least 25% of […]

On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act offers critical economic stimuli to individuals, businesses and healthcare institutions as a result of the extreme financial strains caused by the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. On March 27, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives […]

Updated May 18, 2020 What is “loan forgiveness”? The main benefit of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is that if the proceeds from the loan are properly spent within the eight week “Covered Period”—which begins, at the election of the applicant, on the day the PPP proceeds are deposited into the applicant’s bank account or […]