Thursday, March 19, 2020

Atlantic County Offers Assistance for Business Community

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting life as we know it, from the health and safety of our communities to the health and prosperity of our businesses.

County Executive Dennis Levinson is aware of the impact the pandemic is having on businesses and their employees and is working with the Atlantic County Economic Alliance to assist them by providing information and keeping them apprised of available financing programs and loans to help them through these challenging times.

“The ACEA is the recognized lead for regional economic development. Executive Director Lauren Moore and his staff are working closely with the governor’s office and our state and federal elected officials so we have the most up-to-date information regarding business assistance efforts,” stated Levinson.

“We are also making sure the state has sufficient information to include Atlantic County in the state’s disaster declaration as an economically injured area that qualifies for federal assistance.”

The ACEA has contacted the local chambers of commerce and business organization to help identify the most severely impacted businesses and their priorities. That information has been provided to the state to further assist in the emergency declaration.

President Trump has proposed a federal stimulus package of as much as $1 trillion that would include up to $550 billion in direct payments or tax cuts, up to $300 billion in small business assistance, and up to $100 billion in airline and industry relief with another $250 billion designated for direct payments to Americans.

According to Moore, the state has also proposed several assistance initiatives including tax holidays to stimulate consumer spending and a break from payroll taxes, a temporary extension of unemployment benefits, a small business sales tax remittance reduction, an extension of the state’s tax filing deadline and more.

“We are monitoring what business assistance programs are available or will become available. We will share this information on our website at www.aceanj.com and social media,” said Moore.

Businesses may also call 1-800-JERSEY7 and visit https://cv.business.nj.gov. For federal assistance programs visit www.sba.gov.

 

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